One

“If there’s only one nation in the sky, shouldn’t all passports be valid for it?”

Pi Patel, The Life of Pi


This is the truth to which all religion points - Oneness. Oneness of the Universe. Oneness of the Higher Power. Religion calls us to the awareness that we are not at the center of the Universe. Certainly, as a Christian I can embrace this truth. In fact, we believe that God has revealed truth in a many different cultures and religions. God has prepared the nations with prophets and revelations and whispers. But preparation for what? Is it for simply a declaration that all religions are equal and the same? Couldn’t God have gotten that message across with much less effort and trouble?

If all religions are equal and the same, then there is no getting around it, it simply doesn’t matter what you believe. Even if you’re an atheist, you don’t know have to be a music-lover to be invited to the concert - if all paths and passports are valid. But if I have a destination to get to, but I am fairly lost, I need the right map, not just any map will do. If I need to get to a particular place and stop and ask for directions, its fairly important to ask the right person for directions in how to get there. Not all roads will take me to where I want to go. In fact, some roads and places uphold that old country saying, “You can’t get there from here.”

“We’re one, but we’re not the same.” Bono, U2

The Apostle Paul recognized this situation in his day as he strolled through the very cosmopolitan city of Athens. Athens was the city of wisdom, of learning, and especially of philosophy and religion. The city abounded with temples to every known god, goddess, and religion in the western world. When Paul met the philosophers in the open-air forum on Mars Hill he recognized the wealth and variety of faith and philosophy represented there. “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are,” Paul announced. He was establishing common ground. He notes they have a altar in the city to an unknown god. “Let me tell you about this god,” Paul says. Then he begins to tell them specifics of how this unknown god has in fact made himself known. This god is in fact the Creator that all religions acknowledge, even their own secular poets. And this Creator has revealed himself in a particular and unique way in a man by whom the whole world will be judged.

Jesus Christ is the particularity of God. He is the One in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell. Jesus Christ brings the truth of Oneness that is present and proclaimed in almost all cultures and takes it to its purpose and fulfillment. God has prepared the nations, whispering truth for a purpose as big as the world and universe. This purpose is perhaps to big to leave to just the seasoning of cultures with universal ideas. God chose a particular time and place and people to whom and through whom to most fully reveal himself to the world. God needed to get particular and we needed God to do this. Here’s why:

My life has been changed by reading glasses this past year or two. It was a surprise to me when I first recognized the need – why are the words on the page running into each other? My eyes strained and watered to keep doing the job they’re paid to do. With glasses things have improved, but I’m still getting used to them. I don’t wear them all the time and I let them lie places when they should be with me. And now when I am helping with my son’s homework or reading the directions on the bottle, I have to summon my eyes to me. I can’t get it done alone. The world is masked and dark without them.

Jesus is not only the particularity of God. Jesus is the clarity of God. In no where or way does God speak more clearly than in the person of His Son, Jesus.

It is this clarity of truth that prompted the Psalmist to declare: “In thy light do we see light.” Psalm 36.9

And because the Lord is our light (Psalm 27) the light of Christ shines in us. Jesus said,

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. . . in the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5.14-16


Timothy Keller recounts serving on a discussion panel at a local college along with a Jewish Rabbi and Muslim imam. The conversation was courteous, intelligent and respectful in tone, Keller recalls. Each speaker affirmed that there significant, irreconcilable differences between the major faiths. For example, they all agreed with this statement:

“If Christians are right about Jesus being God, then Muslims and Jews fail in a serious way to love God as God really is, but if Muslims and Jes are right that Jesus is not God but rather a teacher or prophet, then Christians fail in a serious way to love God as God really is.”

Keller sums up, “The bottom line was – we couldn’t all be equally right about the nature of God.”

The purpose of this series was to examine the other great faiths and see what we have in common and what divides us and then to answer the question, “Why am I a Christian?”

One person here said only half-jokingly, that this series had caused doubts in him. I take it be the kind of doubt that causes us to ask questions and so work for deeper understanding. That’s the good kind of doubt. Some might even call it a holy disturbance, God disturbing your thoughts like the angel used to disturb the Bethesda pool. I don’t want you to remain in a state of doubt. That’s a poor home. We must move on to a confident answer to the question, “Why am I a Christian as opposed to a Jew or Muslim or Buddhist?”

I am a Christian because of Jesus. When I met Jesus I met the clarity of God. When I met Jesus I met my Soul friend. I met the One who forgives and saves and teaches me. I met the One in whom I put my absolute trust. I’m not a Christian because of my parents, my friends, my church, my country, my education, my culture – although they certainly all helped. I’m a Christian because of Jesus. Jesus spoke into my life. He spoke with clarity. He revealed the One to me. And what’s more, I have a confidence that anytime someone has “ears to hear” Jesus will speak to them too. I think He is an attractive person to meet. He is in fact, the Person, the Human Being – Son of Man. He is also God revealed. He transcends cultures and races. He belongs to all because all belong to Him.

As a church we have been commissioned to introduce people to Jesus. It’s good when we introduce people to our friends, our family, and our church. But when we introduce someone to Jesus they are changed forever.

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God who. . .has given us the ministry of reconciliation. . .so we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5.16-20

In Ephesians, Paul talks about how God has chosen the church to reveal the mystery of Christ to the universe. The Church is here to tell the Gospel to the whole world, “to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages but now made known.” When he spoke to the Athenians Paul recognized that there were times of ignorance that God overlooked, but now the time of salvation has come.

In commenting on Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians the early church Fathers said, “Right up until the cross there was a suspicion that Christ was weak.” We regard him this way no longer. Today there is a suspicion that the church is weak, and it may be so. But we don’t recommend the church to the world. We recommend Christ who is strong. He is “fairest Lord Jesus.”

Eastern Mysticism

Across the Universe
This Beatles song was written out of a 1968 trip to India and their experience with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation.

I think this artist captures the spirit and experience this song points to:
Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me


Jai guru deva om
Nothing's gonna change my world

Thoughts meander like a
restless wind inside a letter box
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe



Words are valued for their experiential value, not for their meaning. The man in the rocking chair is experiencing the Universe around him in its life and death and colors and senses. The Universe is what it is. “Nothing’s gonna change my world.” He isn’t, that’s for sure. He is going to sit in his chair and contemplate. His “thoughts meander. . .and tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe.”

Notice what happens to the man as the song progresses – he fades into his surroundings and becomes a tree. In the end, his perspective is restored, and in the end the only thing that has changed is the different pictures (perspectives) on his wall.

This is a picture of Eastern Mysticism. The religions of the East contain many and varied philosophies from Hinduism, Hare Krishna, and TM to the essentially atheistic Buddhism and Confucianism. But all these share a sensibility that is very different from the Abrahamic faiths that we have thus far discussed.

In Eastern Mysticism essentially God and the Universe are One. In fact, in Buddhism there really is no god. There is only the Universe. In Hinduism there are a pantheon of gods but nothing like a One God.

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. . . “God called to him out of the bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’

Then God said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. . .I am the God of you father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”


We forget how radical and awesome a notion this is the One God of the Universe would declare himself, reveal himself, and speak, speak!, to a human being. You’re darned right Moses hid his face!

This story and experience would never fit in the religions of the East. Oh, the looking at the burning bush part, sure. But there would be no speaking God coming out of it. In mysticism, the Universe “speaks” for itself. And what the Universe says is more experience than doctrine. There are many roads that lead to enlightenment, not just one. So ideas are not important. Technique and experience are the thing.

What technique and what experience? Spiritual gurus like the Marishi Mahesh Yogi emphasized chanting a mantra, a seemingly meaningless phrase in Sanskrit given to the novice by their master. The novice chants it over and over again for long periods in quiet and solitude with the goal of going beyond mere meaning to oneness with the universe. The word om is the most significant word in a mantra. It has no literal meaning but some have suggested it means yes, perfection, ultimate reality. When you achieve that then the worries of past and future fade away and you become completely in tune with the present.

Remember words are used primarily to jolt you out of the rational and mundane to a new level of consciousness. In Zen Buddhism you have the koan, a brain teaser like “If a tree falls in the forest but there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Or, “What’s the sound of one hand clapping?” These puzzles are intended to drive you to silent contemplation beyond rationality.

This is what was and is attractive in Eastern Mysticism to many Westerners. The Beatles helped popularize a trend that was already happening, many young Christian or agnostic men and women in the West journeyed to the East or to one of the meditation centers that were popping up in the States to experience a new kind of spirituality very different from the suit and tie religion of their fathers. Dallas Willard points out that the flight to Eastern religions among western youth was the flight from a dry orthodoxy to an experiential spirituality. Christianity had become unsure of itself, at best holding onto “the form of godliness” with none of the power. At a time when the hippie generation hungered for experience, Christianity had lost touch with the burning bush and Pentecostal fire.

If there is a common ground between Christianity and Eastern religions it is the value that words point to experience. It is the belief that the Universe is bigger than we are and that it can be experienced in meditation of simple things. That’s the common ground. What is uncommon between our worlds is a world unto itself.


As you may gather, eastern mysticism is very concerned with enlightenment. But what does it say about the great suffering and moral problems of the world around us?

Suffering is merely a part of the Universe, the yin and yang of experience. There is no strictly right and wrong, good and evil. They are two sides of the same coin. Everything is cyclical, coming and going across the universe. Strictly speaking, suffering is an illusion. If you are suffering you just need to get more in tune with the universe. Many practitioners of eastern religions hold a high view of morality, but it really doesn’t follow logically from their philosophies. What is the motivation to do good rather than evil? You hear a lot about karma. But karma is not a duty to do good. Karma is what happens to you regardless of your behavior. It tends toward fatal resignation. “Nothing’s gonna change my world.”

I want to listen to another song that is more of a critique of the eastern way. The song is called “Enlightenment” and its by Van Morrison. Morrison has experimented a lot with religion and philosophy and eastern mysticism was one of the paths he explored before settling into his Christian faith.

Chop that wood
Carry water
What's the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

Every second, every minute
It keeps changing to something different
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
It says it's non attachment
Non attachment. non attachment

I'm in the here and now, and I'm meditating
And still I'm suffering but that's my problem
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

Wake up

Enlightenment says the world is nothing
Nothing but a dream, everything's an illusion
And nothing is real


Morrison doesn’t mince words. Enlightenment? The definition keeps changing. Suffering? I guess that’s my problem. Everything is an illusion. Nothing is real. I’m meditating. Like the monks, I’m chopping wood and carrying water. But, enlightenment, I still don’t know what it is. You can hear Morrison’s judgment – Wake up!


It’s interesting that Eastern religions speak well of Jesus. They hail him as guru and an enlightened soul. But what would Jesus say to them? Take me as I am.

“Believe in God. Believe also in me. . .I am the way, the truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know the Father.”
Jesus rejects the many ways and says I am the way. He won’t allow the characterization of himself as merely a guru or teacher or prophet. He is either a liar or lunatic – or he is who he claimed to be, God.

In his book, Siddhartha, Herman Hesse journeys into eastern mysticism and describes his vision of “all the voices, all the goals, all the yearnings, all the sorrows, all the pleasures, all the good and evil, all of them together was the world . . .the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: OM – perfection.”

In the book of Revelation, the many palaces of the kingdom are the setting for thousands upon thousands of voices that sing of the perfection of the One – the Lamb of God who sits on the throne.

The House of Islam

Muhammad was a forty year old merchant from Mecca and he was spending the night in a cave near Mt. Hira where he used to spend nights in prayer and meditation. This one night he was suddenly awoken by a heavenly voice telling him he was the Messenger of God. He was terrified but the voice was confirmed by a vision of a mysterious figure presenting himself as the angel Gabriel. The angel physically grabbed hold of Muhammad and made him recite revelations about God. This was the first of many recitations that later became known as the Qur’an which means “The Recitation.”

Muhammad quickly gained many followers and Islam was born. It is important to note that Islam is one of the three great monotheistic religions that say there is One true God. And it is surely not accidental that Muhammad had his vision in a region where, to be sure there were many pagan Bedoin tribes and Arabic peoples, but there were also many Jews and Christian Arabs as well. And at first, Muhammad stressed the compatibility of his revelations concerning Allah with the Jews and Christians of Mecca and the surrounding region.

Many of us have a limited and sometimes distorted view of Islam, a view that is formed primarily by the lens of radical Islamic terrorists and their violence and vitriol reported on the news. I am not denying they exist or the seriousness of the threat they pose to all good people in our country and around the world. But they do not define Islam. We should ask ourselves if we can think of examples of people who call themselves Christians who we nevertheless would be embarrassed and outraged by if they claimed to represent us? How about that minister in Florida who was burning books? Do you want him speaking for you? Or how about that wacky church whose members go to funerals of soldiers killed in action and hold up signs saying it was God’s judgment on them? Are you happy they call themselves Christian?

I want, in our brief time, to look at the very basic beliefs of Islam. I want to look at what we have in common and how we are different. There are things in Islam that I think you can recommend and there are no doubt things with which you will strongly disagree. But understanding these things can only help us and help our world.

To help us find common ground it might be good to look at what Muslims call the Five Pillars of Islam. They are:

1. Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad.

2. Establishment of the daily prayers.

3. Concern for and almsgiving to the needy

4. Self-purification through fasting; and
5. The pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able.

In the first pillar we can find the common ground of belief in the One God. Muslims exalt the power and greatness of God. Psalm 29 fits well with their belief. A Muslim’s purpose in life is “to serve and obey God, and this is achieved through the teachings and practices of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.”

Islam stresses the vital importance of prayer and fasting. This is another area of common ground. In fact, many Christians would do well to dedicate have as much energy to these spiritual practices that many Muslims do.

Muslims believe that Mary was Chosen, that Angels spoke to her, that Christ performed miracles, and in one sense, is the way to eternal life. Muslims look to Abraham in a similar way that we do. They claim the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures as theirs as well. These are not insignificant matters in which to find common ground.

“For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through he righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there no violation.”

Muslims stress obedience to God’s will. “Islam” literally means submission. Muslims resonate with Jesus teaching in Matthew 5.17:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. . .” and then in verse 20: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Muslims see most Christians and “Christian” nations like the United States as people of lax morals, people who ignore God’s laws. A concern for a moral society is certainly something we share with Muslims. But here lies a great difference as well. Muslims don’t believe in Original Sin, a basic Christian doctrine. Muslims believe that every person has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other and must decide which one to listen to every moment of every day.

This brings us to what Islam says about Jesus Christ. As I briefly mentioned, Muslims declare Jesus as the way to eternal life. But in the context of their other beliefs and their practice, it’s difficult to see how that statement is really true for a Muslim. Let me explain. Muslims don’t believe that Jesus died on a cross. That was a fabrication of some of the disciples. God wouldn’t let that happen according to Islamic thinking. Jesus also was not the divine Son of God. According to Islam, Jesus never claimed that for himself. That is something that Christians “did to him.” Combine this with the fact that Islam doesn’t believe in Original sin and the sin nature, and Jesus doesn’t die for people on the Cross because there is no need of, nor indeed purpose for, salvation this way.

For a Muslim salvation is a matter of personal effort, supported by their community of faith, to lead a righteous life of prayer, fasting, and obedience to God as taught by God’s last and greatest prophet, Muhammad.

Muslims would agree with the first part of this scripture, Romans 6.23, “For the wages of sin is death. . .” but they really don’t make sense of the second part, “but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Rather, maybe I should say the way they make sense that Jesus means eternal life is that his teaching is part of a continuum of Allah’s teaching through the many prophets that culminate in Allah’s Recitation to Muhammad. Eternal life will happen for all peoples who eventually bow their to knees to Allah and declare His greatness and the greatness of his prophet Muhammad.

In his farewell address in March of the year 632, Muhammad declared, “I was ordered to fight all men until they say ‘There is no god but Allah.’”

This was the beginning of jihad, holy war, that increased and carried on after the death of the prophet. Islam is concerned with converting both individuals souls and whole societies, and the concern is often much greater for the latter than the former. That is why the religion is often referred to as Dar al-Islam, the House of Islam. For Muslims identify much more with the umma, the homeland of Islam, than the individual countries in which they live. It must be said that initially Muhammad often spread the influence of Islam by the point of a sword. It must also be said that Christianity has sometimes been spread that way. Certainly, many if not most Muslims today understand jihad as an internal, spiritual struggle between the angel and devil on your shoulder, good and evil. Muslims who take this view are much closer to what Jesus says about the Kingdom to Pilate:

“My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Matthew 18.36


There is a struggle for the soul and mantle of true Islam in the world today. In a November 2001 address, Osama bin Laden said this:

“I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no god but Allah, and his prophet Muhammad.”

This is word for word from the Prophet. Our hope for dialogue and peace today lies with those Muslims who cringe over that statement as much as we do.

Are All Religions the Same?

There is a common belief, frequently expressed today, that all religions are the same. Added to this is the thought, “We all worship the same God, right? The important thing is that you believe.” Despite a vocal minority of atheists, most people today express a belief in God or some higher power. Some of these beliefs are of the “big guy upstairs” variety – vague, uninformed, childish even. Many people’s belief systems are a hodgepodge of spiritualities that they have chosen, ala carte, if you will, and formed what they consider their “faith.” It becomes clear after just a little inspection that the deity at the center of this kind of belief is the person themselves; their “holy trinity”, me, myself, and I.

I’m not sure how prevalent this kind of spirituality is or how you would measure it, much less seek to improve upon it directly. If there is a way to bring this “me-first” spirituality to a place of deeper truth, then one thing that needs to happen is a better understanding of the world’s great religions. Timothy Keller notes that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century there was a common belief that religion was no longer the center of truth, or even slightly truthful, and so was no longer useful. It was believed that within a generation or two, it would be completely gone. This secularization thesis has been discredited and is now almost gone. Today, virtually all major religions are growing in the number of adherents. Harvard University pondered a few years ago that it might be a good thing for its students to learn the difference between a Sunni and Shiite. The university didn’t have the consensus to go ahead with anything like a required course in religion, but that’s another discussion. We are not Harvard, we’re Hicks. We have the freedom to discuss these things. What’s more we have the greater freedom and resources to consult the Holy Scriptures and see what God hath revealed about himself and humanity. What does God say about religions other than the “biblical” faiths of Judaism and Christianity? Over the next several weeks we are going to look at several of the world’s great religions. We even hope to have a couple representatives of those faiths speak to us and give us the perspective that only an adherent of that faith could. In the end we expect to come to a greater understanding and appreciation of other faiths and a greater understanding and appreciation of our own faith.

You may have surmised that we believe all religions are not the same. What are the implications of this truth? Are some religions better than others? Why am I a Christian? Do I have reason to believe that Christianity is the best way?

We are going on a quest in search of truth. Matthew’s Gospel speaks of certain wise men, Magi, who went on such a quest at the time of Jesus’ birth. They were the Ph.D’s and professors of their day. They were part of an international wisdom movement. They are depicted as both kings and astrologers. And their journey to Judea and Jerusalem is the beginning of the proclamation of Jesus to the Gentiles. They brought three gifts so we number them at three. They followed a star that they believed to be special, a sign that was pointing them to the birth of a King. They didn’t know the Biblical prophecies. They were probably not very familiar with Hebrew history. They simply went on a journey in search of truth.

They, of course, make it to Jerusalem and inquire of the vassal king of Rome, Herod the self-titled Great, about where they might find his replacement. They are directed to Bethlehem. They bring their gifts and place them at the feet of the Christ child and then they quietly go home.

In the eyes of these wise men, Judea was probably an unlikely place to look for ultimate answers. But of course, from our perspective, it was a very likely place. The Jewish people have always claimed a special knowledge of God. In fact, they’ve claimed a special relationship with God as the chosen people. The Hebrew scriptures give an account in Genesis of the creation of humanity, its multiplication and dispersal through the Near East and beyond. The scriptures tell us that God chose a man named Abram who was from Ur of the Chaldean empire, one of the oldest civilizations, known for their advancements in agriculture and civil planning. This Abram and his wife Sarai are the beginnings of the chosen people. Abram and his wife avoid calamity at the hands of the Pharaoh of Egypt. God makes covenant with this couple and they give birth to a child in their extreme old age. The backdrop on the world stage to God’s dealing with this couple is two things:

1) There are many different peoples and cultures in the world

2) Other peoples and cultures are worshipping other gods


There are hints throughout the book of Genesis that various people groups have begun to depart from the God of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. But the hints are basically that the mass of humanity had grown evil. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth.” The judgment of Noah and the Flood didn’t seem to change this. The Tower of Babel was a testament to human pride. We are told God confused their language and produced many more language groups. More languages mean different cultures and the possibility of different religions.

Later in Genesis when Jacob and Rachel flee from Rachel’s father, Laban, Rachel steals the “household gods” and takes them along with other valuables for their journey. The whole book of Genesis spans many years, exactly how many no one seems to be convincingly sure. But in the span of this one book the world of the ancient Near East has become an incubator of religions.

In the Hebrew scriptures that we call Old Testament, the God Of Israel pits himself against the gods of Egypt and the gods of Canaan. If you haven’t read those stories, spoiler alert, God wins. You also have the instances where God uses both powerful rulers and humble people of other faiths and cultures to do his will - Darius of Persia in the Old Testament and the Roman centurion in the Gospels come to mind. These persons, though not a part of God’s people, are sometimes called “God-fearers”. They are often described, ala the Centurion, as “upright and devout”, not unlike a certain Abraham who, strictly speaking, was not himself an Israelite. He was however called a “friend of God,” and father of not just one people, but many.

God, especially as we picture Him in the Old Testament, is often thought of as narrow-minded and cruel towards pagan, “unchosen” peoples. But that is not the full picture. The Lord is always looking for people who “fear” (read “love”) him.

“The eyes of the Lord scan the whole world to find those whose hearts are committed to him, to be strong on their behalf.” 2 Chronicles 16.9

The God of Adam and Eve, of Noah, of Abraham, makes it clear that he hasn’t forgotten the Garden, the Flood, and the Covenant that one day his world will be made right and the original promise of the Creation will find fulfillment through the Redemption and Salvation of all peoples.


The Scriptures maintain that the Lord is God of all nations and that He will draw all nations once again (back) to Him. The Messiah that will come from God’s chosen people will be a light to the Gentiles and the desire of all peoples. Jesus echoes this thought when he tells his disciples,

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” John 10.16


The desire for God and the desire to please God are some “threads of redemption” that can found in the world’s great religions. There is some common ground in which some vital truths can be found among our faiths. There are also differences that we would do well to understand. Let us be wise men and women who are willing to give time and energy to first things, important things, truthful things. Nobody else is talking about this stuff. Where are the god-fearers and truth seekers of today? You won’t find it on Entertainment Tonight or Sports Center. Harvard can’t talk about it. But we can.

Written in the Stars

Last year, I believe it was, at Christmas Eve I showed a picture of me as a kid. This year I want to show you a picture of my dog. This picture may be better looking. This is Addie. Addie is long-haired shepherd, sometimes called a Shiloh shepherd. I think she’s a good looking dog, but she’s has a bit of a troubled past. Don’t tell her I said that. There was the time that my wife went to get pizza for the big birthday party and took Addie with her. She got the pizza, put it in the Jeep, and then made just a quick stop in another store, only to come out and find mozzarella and marinara all over Addie’s mouth. The pizza was GONE, ALL GONE! Addie wasn’t very popular at the birthday party I can tell you.

There was the time she got into the skunk. There was the time she ate the ham. Do you know what ham does to a dog’s intestinal tract? There were the times she attacked the neighbors little dogs. I could go on, but I’ll stop here. No use piling on. Addie can be very exasperating. It’s fitting that Addie was named after a grandmother in our family who, God rest her soul, was an exasperating woman.

But there’s another side to Addie as well. And see if this doesn’t capture something that you see in your dog as well:

Show God and Dog clip.



God thought and made up the dog. Dog reflects a part of God. My dog has never criticized one of my sermons. My dog has never given me a disapproving look. She loves going on walks with me. She thinks I’m great. Dog reflects a part of God.
God’s desire to have a relationship with us. God would stay with me all day. I’m the one who walks away.

There is an old expression that compares something to “a dog in a manger.” The expression refers to an old Aesop fable in which a dog plants himself in a manger so none of the other animals can eat the hay there. Even though the dog can’t use it, he doesn’t want the other animals to have it either. A dog in a manger is useless and spiteful to others. It’s a mean-spirited spoilsport. And I wonder if this how many people look at the God in the manger – useless to them and a spoilsport to the world. Is this how God is?

God’s story of Christmas is found in Luke 2.and the setting of the story is really the world’s stage. . .”in those days a decree went out from Caesar, the ruler of the civilized world.”

But even that setting is not big enough for what God has in mind because a few verses later we are told some shepherds are in the fields and angels and hosts speak out of the night sky and stars to declare what God has in mind.

God chooses a people to teach his ways and to whom he will make Himself known. God gets specific. He calls these people to come out and be different. Through all their struggles and failures he preserves a faithful few, a remnant to carry on, and through the centuries the remnant seems to get smaller and smaller until you have to search really hard. You have to look in a backwater region of the Empire, a crude country called Palestine, to an even lesser known town there called Nazareth. In Nazareth is a girl who is engaged to be married to a simple carpenter. That girl is named Mary. Though she doesn’t know it, she is the faithful remnant of God’s people. She is the conduit for God’s plan of salvation that funnels through her and bursts into the world in the form of a baby boy who will become salvation for all peoples. Jesus is God getting specific and God getting big at the same time.

God isn’t content to be an idea or even to be a god of some folks of a certain religious persuasion. God’s heart is pining for everyone. He wants to have a relationship with everyone.

Dallas Willard says that God wants to “form us to be persons He can set loose in the Universe.” Truly God wants us to be stewards and rulers of the whole Creation.


Some people have trouble believing that their lives have a cosmic purpose. Others have trouble identifying what that purpose is, what their lives are really about.

In the fifth of the Harry Potter books, a young Lord Voldermort is just coming to the height of his evil powers. He goes back to his alma mater, Hogwarts, to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore about a teaching position. Dumbledore knows that his former pupil, Tom Riddle, now known as Lord Voldemort, has become a truly evil being. Yet, Dumbledore agrees to see him and hear his application to teach.

“I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard.” Voldemort states.

Dumbledore responds, “Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them.” Voldemort continues:

“I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed –“

“Of some kinds of magic,” Dumbledore corrected him quietly. “Of some. Of others, you remain. . .forgive me. . .woefully ignorant.” For the first time, Voldemort smiled. It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage.

“The old argument,” Voldemort said softly. “But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.”

“Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.

Perhaps you have been looking for meaning and purpose in the wrong places.
Love is the reason. Love is the purpose. Maybe that’s not the freshest idea you’ve ever heard. Maybe it’s an old argument. But to say its old does not mean untrue.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3.16

I had a conversation with a stranger after a wedding a few weeks ago. . .` I went into a restroom at the reception and this man came in after me. “Pastor! That was great speech you gave. That was a really good talk. . . “ He went on and the enthusiasm with which he praise me made me believe that he had had too much to drink. I mean, my sermon was good. But it wasn’t that good.

He continued, “Me and the big guy upstairs, we haven’t been too close. . .” and then his voice trailed as he mumbled something about “getting reconnected.”

Now, anytime I hear someone mention “the big guy upstairs” I know that they probably don’t know God that well. There in front of the bathroom stalls I expressed my hope that he would get “reconnected” with God.

Where are you in this Universe today? Because I believe that question is not so much “Where is God?” but where are you? Are you disconnected? Are you walking around in a haze where the best belief you can muster is expressed with the words “the big guy upstairs”?

That weak belief is not going to get you very far, in this life, or the next. There is an alternative within your grasp – you can know the Almighty Creator of the Universe. You can know Him as your Savior, your Lord, and your Friend. He’s written it in a book. He’s written it in the stars. He’s written it on my heart and on the hearts of many. It can be written on your heart too.

“Simple spelling G O D. Same word backwards D O G. They would stay with me all day. I’m the one who walks away.

“But both just wait for me. And dance at my return with glee. Both love me no matter what – divine God, canine mutt.

Servants Entrance

Not so long ago wealthy homes had servant’s entrances for “the help.” These were the ways the hired servants would come and go to do their jobs for the master of the house. Servants were and are looked down upon as inferior. But there’s no getting around it that the servants are the ones that do the work that others don’t want to do – work that needs to be done. There is still a servant class in America, usually filled by current immigrant minorities who clean our buildings, drive our cabs, and pick our fields. I wonder if the rest of us have forgotten what it means to serve?

And yet those who go by the name of Christian have been given pretty explicit guidance by our Master in regards to being servants. He says, don’t hire them, be them.

“The greatest among you will be the servant of others.” Matthew 23.11

And “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

“Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many.”

This Man, this Ransom, says to be my follower is to put your beliefs into hands and feet and show your belief by what you do. In fact, what you do is what you believe.


We have looked upon the Church as the place where we attend. So church is a place and if we are good Christians we will attend church, at this building we call church. We attend and a chosen few lead the activities that we attend. The minister is the head leader or most chosen and that’s why we pay him – to do the ministry. I hope you are either smiling or grimacing at this characterization. Because it’s really not true. Although we have acted like it is true for many years in the modern church. This obviously wasn’t true for much of the history of the church and it can’t be true today if the church is going to fulfill its mission in the world.

Don’t get me wrong – coming to worship together is important. I remember some years ago at church camp we were planning a evening worship service and someone suggested that for Holy Communion we do a representation of the Last Supper, recruit counselors and kids to be disciples sitting around the Table and I would serve the sacrament. I didn’t get excited about the idea of kids in bathrobes and bedsheets as disciples. I thought it would be just a cheesy skit. But we went ahead with it. We gathered for worship, sang some songs, had a message, and then did the Last Supper skit. As a part of that skit we had a couple of the disciples wash the feet of all the campers. And as that was wrapping up we began the words of institution of the sacrament. And I don’t know how to capture this in words what happened except to say that as I watched the kids washing each others feet, their was no giggling or distractions as you might expect, but rather there was just this holy quiet. And I heard my own voice saying, “He took the bread and gave thanks and said this is my Body which is broken for you.” And I all can say is I felt the Holy Spirit just wash over us there. The sense was so powerful I almost wept. I know God showed up. And it was in the breaking of the bread and the washing of feet. Worship is loving God and each other and reminding us who we are, that we are sent out to serve as His hands, his feet, his body.

See, the church is not a building but the church is the people who. . .I say “who” because I want to qualify this, the church is the people who serve. Truly, if the church is just the people who show up, you might have something there but you really don’t have the Jesus Way of the Church. Jesus said all my followers will be servants.

The Apostle Peter took this a step further and said, in effect, we are all ministers, we are all priests.

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.” 2 Peter 2.9

If we are all ministers then we are all supposed to do ministry. Ministry is not just the job of the paid professionals. Ministry is job one for everyone here. Some have called this the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Part of this teaching emphasizes that we can all go directly to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus has brought us near to God by his grace. We don’t have to rely solely on paid professionals to pray for us, study for us, and do church work for us. We can all do that. But the bigger emphasis is on how if we have been saved by grace, we have also been saved to do good works in Jesus which he has prepared for us to do. God is waiting for us to go crazy with service.

What we often have in the church is not crazy service, but polite passivity. Like I said, if we show up once in awhile, we show our agreement to these doctrines and we approve of the whole idea. But when are we going to get our hands and feet involved?

In the business world they have this idea called the 80/20 Principle. It’s simple. In most businesses, eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people. That’s why many businesses struggle to get by. But when a business gets eighty percent of the people doing good work, well, you’ve probably got a great business going there. Many people have observed this 80/20 Principle in the Church. I’ve heard some of you express this frustration, even if you haven’t called it by this name.

Our apathy and our idea of the church as the place where I just show up once in a while is standing in the way of us really being the Church, the Servant Church that the One the prophet Isaiah called “the Suffering Servant” had in mind. Remember the Parable of the Talents? It’s a story Jesus told about a master who gives each of his servants a certain amount of money to be steward of. Two of the servants use the money to benefit their master. One of the servants is afraid to do anything and so just sits on the money. When the master returns he congratulates the first two servants for their initiative and hard work and the additional money they produced. But the master turns to the third servant and hears his story of how he was afraid to mess up, and so, did nothing. The master doesn’t say, its okay, you’re just not as good with stuff as the other two. The master doesn’t say, I understand, you’re an introvert, not an extrovert. Or even, hey its okay, you’re just not as talented as the others, I didn’t expect much out of you. No, the master calls the third servant, “wicked” and “lazy.” Because he did nothing with what was entrusted to him.

We’ve got to start being more assertive and bold with not just what we believe but what we are going to do about it.

You may remember last winter we had a lot of snow around here. The one storm in February was particularly bad. We paid to not only have our parking lot plowed many times but we had to pay to have snow trucked away. So, in the Spring it came as a delight to learn that we were eligible for Snow Emergency Grant Money from the federal government. I thought it was worth a shot so I began the application process. Let me offer this caveat: if you have never applied for a grant from a government agency, ask yourself, do I really need this grant, before you begin. Because the process can be daunting. Anyways, I filled out a lot of paperwork and online work and attended some meetings and made phone calls and was told through the process by several officials that everything looked in order. Until I received a call in late September from someone in the FEMA office in Washington who told me that we were not eligible for the grant because, and I quote “you are only a church.” I am guessing what the man meant by that. He meant that we are a group of people who meet weekly in a building for purposes of their own. While perhaps harmless, we serve no greater good to our community and certainly no greater good that the Federal Government is interested in.

This is what I read into his statement, to which I responded, “Oh but we are serving our community,” and I proceeded to “prove” our community value.

The Federal Government may require us to prove that we are “more than a church” to really matter, but I’m saying that to serve our community is the Church. If Hicks isn’t here then there is no place for senior citizens to meet every day through week. There is no place for the Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts. If Hicks isn’t here then many people who have needed rent money, food, and clothing maybe don’t get it. If Hicks isn’t here then there are kids and youth who miss out on groups to belong. If Hicks isn’t here then there are a couple hundred less people giving witness in our communities of what faith in Jesus Christ is like.

But we only scratch the surface. We need to stop making excuses and get off our butts and do something. You are the ministers! You are the chosen people. You are a holy nation that, if it learns to serve, won’t be stopped.

A Magnifier, a Weight, and a Cow

-show clip Don’t Buy Stuff-
Today we continue our series, Simple Living. We believe that the way to contentment is in living simply and generously. All who would pursue this must confront issues surrounding money and wealth. It’s important to note that Jesus talked about money to teach about money. And he also talked money to teach about other things. Jesus talked about money all the time. One reason for this, no doubt, was that Money was an important cultural value in Jesus’ time. It is in our time too. I agree with Ben Patterson who said,

“There is no such thing as being right with God and being wrong with money.”

Money is that important because it connects with and affects so much else in our lives. Money is the Universal Language. There is always an exchange rate. For example, we are still in a season when kids birthdays are very important. We usually have a party to which the boys can invite a bunch of their friends. These friends all bring birthday cards with money in them. In fact, it is rare anymore for a birthday guest to actually come with a wrapped present. My boys do the same when they are invited to their friends parties. Cash is easier, more convenient. And the kids want it this way. There is never any worry in getting something you don’t want. Money is the thing they want. And they make out quite well at these parties. I had to warn the boys not to pad their guest lists just to increase the birthday earnings! Of course not , dad, they smile at me as they look over their list of mon. . ., err, I mean, friends. We have learned that you can never go wrong with money. . .as a gift.

But what if we did get it wrong about money? What would be some of the consequences in our lives? We are going to look at what the Scripture says about what happens when we get money wrong, and what happens when we get it right.

Jesus tells a story about a king who was owed a large amount of money by one of his servants. Jesus tells this story in response to a question about forgiveness. This is one of those times when Jesus tells a story about money to illustrate some other spiritual issue or principal. So, this king goes to his servant and asks the servant to settle up and pay what he owes. The servant can’t. It’s just too much debt.

And so the tension of the story appears – a man owes a good deal of money, money that he doesn’t have, to another person. Can anyone relate to this story?

I think Jesus wants us to learn certain things from this story. One of those things is that by its nature, money is a magnifier of a person’s character. What do I mean by this? Well, it’s like in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The central object is the Dark Lord’s Ring of Power, which corrupts anyone who tries to use it no matter how good his or her intentions. Tim Keller calls the Ring a “psychic amplifier.” The Ring takes the heart’s deepest desires and magnifies them to idolatrous proportions. And remember, an idol is taking something that is good and making it an ultimate thing. Idols usually don’t start out from bad things. Idolatry is trying to find soul satisfaction and ultimate meaning from things not meant to give them.

“The human heart is an idol factory. Anything can be an idol and everything has been.” Tim Keller

Money is a similar psychic amplifier. It isn’t by nature inherently evil, like the Ring of Power, but it does magnify character like few other things. In the story of the king and the debter, the debt magnifies the principal characters. The king’s good character is brought out by the occasion to forgive a debt. And the servants bad character is soon thereafter revealed by his ill treatment of those who owe him money. Notice, it’s the same debt but it elicits two different responses. Because the king and the servant are obviously two different quality of persons.

And that offers another teachable moment that no doubt Jesus wants us to get: Money and greed are not just a problem for the rich. We want to think that. And we want to say it’s just those rich folks and we’re not them. But the hard truth here is that the best person in the story was the wealthy king. He didn’t allow his money to be an idol. He valued forgiveness and other persons more than he valued his money. Not so the lowly servant. His love for money was great. It was at least one of his idols. There may have been others.

“The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”

Money has the power to do great harm when we get wrong. It can harm us and harm others. For example, carrying a lot debt over sustained periods of time rarely brings out the good in us. Debt is a great weight around us. Maybe we can carry it for a little while okay. But over the long term we pay a price. Debt can kill. Debt has the effect of isolating us from others. It squelches are ability to be generous with our money, our time, our talents. It affects our spirit of generosity and forgiveness. As the story well illustrates, being forgiven of debt doesn’t de facto makes us giving and forgiving people. Debt is often just a symptom of some underlying problems. When the debt is gone, the problem must be addressed, or, as Jesus taught, the demons will returned seven-fold.

However, being debt-free does provide us a wealth of opportunity to be generous, forgiving, and loving. Here we learn the lesson that the birthday party kids know. Cash is good. We all need a cash cow. But what we do with the cash will not only reflect and magnify our character, but will also help shape it.

We all need food and shelter, some savings, some income to live on. In a book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, it says social scientists have shown that once a person’s basic needs have been met, additional money and possessions have virtually no impact on his or her contentment level.

Remember, we are pursuing the Simple Life – a life well-lived in taking pleasure from simple things and from the joy of generosity toward God and others. That way lies contentment.

“There is great gain in godliness in contentment. . .if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. . .”

Somebody tell St. Paul that almost two thousand years after he wrote that sentence, social scientists have discovered the same thing.

In the pursuit of godliness we will make “getting money right” an indispensable spiritual discipline. We will begin to measure our priorities in part by what our checkbook and online accounts say is important to us. And if we find a great disconnect there, like the king in the story, we should be outraged, outraged at ourselves. We may have some cleaning up to do, some debts to pay down. We may have to start budgeting. We may have to reconsider what is food, shelter, clothing, i.e. what is necessary for contentment and what everything else is. We should start giving more generously today, our money, our time, our skills, our selves.

Does not the invitation to the Table come from the One who gives most and gives best and holds the key to Life and Death?

Simple Living in Tough Economic Times

Point: Life is not about our possessions. If we would remember some simple wisdom we can live a simpler life that makes room for peace and joy.


I think many of us feel like our live are cluttered and overscheduled and overstuffed. We are overstuffed with busyness and overstuffed with stuff. The more we try to find meaning in our busyness and our stuff, the more elusive it is. It’s like drinking seawater, the more you drink the thirstier you are.

“Our culture is shallow and complex while Life is simple and deep.” Fred Rogers

Many people these days are looking for a simpler, deeper way to live. When I think about a simpler way of life the image that comes to mind is the front porch. Sitting in your favorite rocking chair or swing on the front porch on a nice evening is one of the simple pleasures of life. I’ve always loved a porch. I remember my grandparents porch. It was screened in with a swing and rocking chairs. It had a view of the garden and a view of the lane and we sat many times and talked as family there. You are never in a hurry when you are sitting on the porch with family or friends.

We have too many homes with no front porch. We are a people in a hurry and a people who are secluded inside with their stuff. I think about my grandmother on her porch. She sat there and did her snap beans. She would tell my Pap to get some of the homemade ice cream out to serve us kids. My Pappy was frugal with his ice cream. He made it with care. It was a treat for us. My grandparents always had good things. But here’s the thing – they never had a lot of stuff. Their lives were never overscheduled or cluttered. They didn’t seem to need a lot but they always had money for what they needed. Their lives were not about their stuff. Many of us today have forgotten or never learned the wisdom of simple living that many of our grandparents and great-grandparents lived by. In fact, noted author Dave Ramsey tries help people learn wisdom about their stuff and their finances and themselves. He repeatedly states that what he teaches is nothing new, “It’s things your grandmother knew and taught.” Here’s news – grandma didn’t make it up either. Her wisdom had its source in the scriptures.

God teaches us to live lives that are full, full of purpose without sacrificing peace, joy, and love. This is a clue to where we find contentment.


A man approaches Jesus and says, “ Rabbi tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” This provokes a response from Jesus who does not get drawn into the family dispute but uses it as a teaching moment.

“Watch out and guard yourself against greed.” One translation has it, guard yourself against “the spirit that is always wanting more.”

The spirit that is always wanting more is the cause of a sickness some have called affluenza. You may have affluenza if you have already thought to yourself, “Hey, I like that rocking chair up there. I wonder where I can get one?” Another name for this is materialism. Materialism is finding meaning in life from your stuff. Watch out for that, Jesus says. Then he tells this story about a man who farmed land that did so well it made the already well-to-do man fabulously wealthy. Look at all this great stuff! What should I do with all this stuff? I know what I will do! I will build! And then I can enjoy of this stuff and I will be set for life. I have nothing to do but enjoy myself.

William Barclay notes that there is no parable in the Bible as full of the words, I, me, my , and mine. The amount of stuff this man owns is matched only by the size of his ego. It nevers occurs to the man that he could solve his storage problems very simply – give some of it away. But that idea apparently never entered his head. He wanted to keep it all for himself, always. He forgot that Life sooner or later won’t tolerate that arrangement. Sooner, later, or this very night your life will be required and then who gets your stuff?

It’s like the wealthy businessman who died and at his funeral someone asked an associate, “So how much did he leave?” The answer – he left everything. Everyone always leaves everything. Always.

Adam Hamilton asks the question, “Which tent are you living in, con-tent or discon-tent?”

The scriptures teach that contentment is not found in more stuff or busier lives but rather in lives lived simply and generously for God and others. In this maxim you can hear Jesus two great commands of life – Love God and love others as much as you love yourself.

I knew a couple once who built a house that was beyond their means to pay for. To pay the monthly house payment they both had to work full time jobs. He actually started working overtime all the time, which means you’re really holding down two jobs. They had kids but they hardly had any time for their marriage or their kids. They never saw each other because they were always working. They were always working to pay for that house they didn’t really need. Were they living in the house or was the house living off of them? The stress of their life increased over several years until their marriage and family disintegrated. They start out intending their marriage and family to go this way. They knew what we perhaps know.

But we tell ourselves that things can’t be different because we are helpless. We are helpless to control our schedules. We are helpless to control our spending. We are helpless to control the amount of stuff that flows to us and into our homes and lives. But this is just excuse, isn’t it? We do have choices. We can choose other priorities in our schedule. We can choose to eliminate expenses (luxuries) that require us to work more hours or take certain jobs. We can choose to get rid of the clutter of our time and stuff that steals our simplicity and therefore our peace and joy. Sometimes we would be better off if we would just go sit on the porch.

In other words, living in contentment is possible for you and me, for anyone.

“For I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have very little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.”

I have learned the secret. . .”I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”


John Ortberg suggests a few keys to contentment:

Remember it could be worse. When you are getting into your five or ten year old car in the parking lot, you say “it could be worse.” When you walk by all the broken things in need of repair around your house you say, “it could be worse.” When you go to work and are frustrated by all the problems and challenges there you say, “it could be worse.” And when you’re frustrated and disappointed with your spouse you say, “it could be worse. Well, actually you should probably think these words rather than say them.

Another key to contentment is asking yourself “How long will this make me happy?” We have found out how quickly the glow fades off the latest greatest shiny new toy or appliance we simply had to have. In months, weeks, or days, it simply doesn’t seem that great anymore. But the bill for it seems just as big, if not bigger.

Give thanks in all circumstances. Developing a grateful heart is one of the most important keys to finding contentment. Remember Paul’s words, that he learned how to be satisfied in any circumstance. He also says this, “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thessalonians 5.18)

The last key is ask yourself where your soul finds true satisfaction. True satisfaction, joy even, is found in obeying the two great commandments of loving God and loving others. St. Augustine wrote 1,600 years ago words that ring true for us today:

“Thou has made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”


We are capable of living simply and generously. We are capable of making room in our lives for peace and joy and generosity. Over the next several weeks we are going to look at how we can free ourselves from some of the financial problems we have chained ourselves to and begin to live with more wisdom, joy, purpose, and generosity.

Teenagers Need a Purpose



Clip “Dewey Knows Best”

“What kind of a God makes us think outside of school?” Although Dewey, a character from the show Malcolm in the Middle, isn’t a teenager, he expresses many teens and young adults initial aversion to church and matters of faith. Dewey’s premise is that God is too big and different for us to know and we are too small for God to really care about. “There’s nothing we can do about it,” is what Dewey concludes. That belief is more prevalent than we may realize.

Recent polls and census data tells that the fastest growing category of response on questions of faith in this country is the “no faith” category. Young adults and teens are a large part of this response. The number of young adults who respond “I have no faith, I am nothing” has doubled in the last 20 years. Remember, these statistics are real people. These are our sons and daughters, our grandsons and granddaughters. What if these trends continue? What if nothing changes? If nothing changes we will lose a generation to the faith. And if there is no strong witness to Christ in one generation, who will speak to the next generation, to their sons and daughters?

This is what is so urgent about our mission and message. We are here to Make Disciples and Create Community in such a time and place as this. We must continue to orient ourselves outward, toward those not yet a part of us, so those who have no faith may come to have faith in Jesus Christ. This is the last week in a series called How to Save a Life – Things Every Teenager Needs. We have talked about how teenagers need Room to Grow, Parents to Love and Instruct, how they need a Cheering Section, how they need forgiveness. But there is one more piece that we need to consider in what Teenagers Need. Teenagers need a purpose. As we’ve discussed, teenagers should not be relegated to a no man’s land between childhood and adulthood. Teenagers can and should grow in knowledge, wisdom, character, skill, and leadership. We do our teenagers, and our young adults for that matter, no favors when we treat them merely like older versions of our little children. They are persons becoming adults in their own rights. Too often we cater to teens worst instincts.

“Here we are now entertain us. . .I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now entertain us.” Kurt Cobain

There is an episode recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels concerning a man who approaches Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by saying you probably know the commandments and your responsibility to obey. The man responds all these I have kept since I was very young. Jesus responds by telling him the one thing he lacks. Go and sell your possessions, give to the poor, and come and follow me.

Matthew’s Gospel refers to this man as a young man. (Matt. 19.20) For Matthew this wasn’t an incidental detail. Here was young man who was seeking God. But there was an obstacle to this young man’s spiritual journey – his materialism. Jesus says remove that and you can, and will be able to, follow me.

“But when the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” Matthew 10.22

Mark’s Gospel says he went away shocked. He shocked that Jesus would suggest his lifestyle was an impediment, or had anything to do with, his being a spiritual person, let alone a follower of Jesus. He was a materialist. Materialism is when you get your meaning in life from your stuff. The young man was a religious person. Unfortunately his everyday god, his real god, was materialism.

It is a sad scene. This young man is the only person mentioned in the Gospels who is invited by Jesus to follow and turns him down. Materialism is the specific idol and god here at work, but there are others, then and now. Our young people are giving their lives to false gods. They are settling for little or no purpose beyond having stuff and looking hot.

“Everyone has a purpose in life. Maybe yours is watching television.” David Letterman

The rich young man was probably not a teenager, but people like him are held up as models for our teenagers today in a culture saturated with selfishness but precious little purpose and vision. God wants to call our young people to lives of purpose. He not only wants to save them from their sin for heaven. He wants to get heaven into them so that they are Kingdom people doing the work of King in their generation.

The Bible is filled with examples of how God calls young persons to lives of purpose. Samuel was a young man serving under Eli the priest when God called him. The introduction to that story goes like this:

“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” 1 Samuel 3.1

What are the consequences for a young person who lives in a time when hardly anyone is speaking of the Word of God? What are the consequences of living your life with little or no vision? God called Samuel, like he called Isaiah, like he called Jeremiah, like he called Ruth and Deborah and Mary. God loves to call young people because there is a lot that young people can do in the Kingdom that God is bringing to fruition.

Notice as well that God called Samuel while he was “ministering to the Lord.” We are most likely to hear God’s call and see some vision in our lives when we are already seeking to serve God. What are the implications for our church and ministry? Young people are a constituency that we merely do for. You know, get them pizza, buy them soda, keep them entertained and hope they will come to church once in awhile. Young people are people we minister with. Young people are also people who minister to us.
I had lunch with a guy in our church not too long ago and I asked him a standard question that I often ask people, “How is it that you came to be a part of Hicks?” He looked at me with eyes shining and said, “I have never told anyone this but I want to tell you. I came to church one Sunday but I wasn’t planning on it being more than a one time thing. But that morning the confirmands were giving testimonies and Ethan stood up and talked about how important the church was for him, how there were a couple persons who didn’t give up on him and made him feel cared for and appreciated, how he saw faith in God through that. When I heard that, that God was doing that in this kid’s life, I was challenged that maybe God could do that in me.”

Young people minister to us. God is pouring out his Spirit on all flesh and young people are getting vision and dreaming dreams


It’s not too early to ask our teenagers what their passion is, where they sense God’s leading in their lives, and how are they going to live God’s purposes. God knows, our young people don’t need to be entertained more. They are like us. They are happiest when they are living lives of purpose. They get joy when they can serve others.

I don’t think it’s an oversimplification to say that young people are taking their own lives today for lack of purpose. It’s been said that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We need to show our young people that their lives are not just problems, their lives are filled with promise and purpose.

“Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. . .Do not neglect the gift that is in you.” 1 Timothy 4.12,14

Teenagers Need Forgiveness

Jesus is asked how many times we should forgive someone. The standard religious answer of the day was you forgive someone seven times. Jesus said, one time, that’s it. . . No, that’s not what he said. He said, “Not seven times. Seventy-seven times.” Some scholars say that seventy-seven was a symbolic number that implied an unlimited scope. In other words it was Jesus way of saying you forgive someone for doing the same stupid, wrong, even evil stuff to you, indefinitely.

Do you buy that? Isn’t that pretty difficult?

Have you ever struggled with forgiving a son or daughter something they’ve done wrong to you, especially something they’ve done more than once?

If a teenager were guilty of say, lying, seven different times, would you be ready to forgive and forget? If a teenager were caught stealing seven times, let alone seventy, what would you call them?

There was an old proverb known by the people of Israel for many years that said,

“The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”


This meant, whatever the parents did wrong the children will pay the price as well. The children will make the same mistakes as the parents. It’s like a bad debt that won’t go away. That old sin cycle will keep on spinning. But the Lord speaks to the people through Ezekiel, saying, “Why do you keep on repeating this proverb? It’s not true and so you shouldn’t say it anymore. Everyone will be responsible for their own sins. All lives are mine. All souls are mine. Only the person who sins will pay the price of the sin, which is death.”

Of course everyone, parents and youth, everyone sins. But the good news in this is that God has a remedy for every person – that remedy is new life through God’s gift of His Son. And new life starts with experiencing forgiveness.

This can be difficult for teenagers because seeking forgiveness would be admitting there is something wrong.

Kraken scene from Juno

Teenagers don’t want to be embarrassed. They don’t want anyone to know there’s anything wrong with them. Shoot I don’t want people to know there is anything wrong with me either. I don’t want that. And I’m supposedly mature. A teenager’s worst fear is that they will be found out. So they change the subject.

There was a boy in my youth group many years ago who seemed to be struggling with living up to his own reputation. Mike was a smart kid with an even quicker wit. He liked to play the part of the slightly bad boy. He was pleasant most of the time but he always had a gleam in his eye, like there was more going on than he would tell you about. I’m not altogether sure why he came to my youth group except that he was friends with a couple of the kids in the group and that there was a part of him, perhaps a very small part, that was interested in what we were living.

Mike stopped coming to youth group as he got older. I would see him in the neighborhood occasionally. I would hear about minor troubles and then a dui. Then another. Fast forward maybe five years later Mike contacts me and says he wants to talk. He had just been convicted of another dui and fleeing the scene. He was about to go back to jail for the third time. He had a young wife and a baby that he would be leaving for awhile. He came to me to ask if I thought he could change. He came to ask me to pray for him.

I think people like watching soap operas because the characters always stay the same. If a guy is player and cheater in one episode, he will be in another. If a woman is prone to letting people walk all over her last year, it will still be happening to her this year. So you can tune in to the soap opera after missing months of it and really only need a little help catching up. It’s like the characters in the story walk around with cartoon bubbles over their heads that say, “Womanizer”, “Doormat” “Convicted Felon”.

Some people in real life live like they have a label hovering over their heads that everyone can see. Mike must have felt like that after a while. What do you have to do to get rid of the label?

Teenagers probably feel the label more than most. By the time they’re in the eighth grade they’ve been labeled – nerd, jock, band nerd, cheerleader, druggie, loser, slacker.
There’s a scene in the movie Juno where Juno goes over to the adoptive parents house and hangs out – the adoptive mother finally says, “Your parents are probably wondering where you are. Juno says, “Nah, I’m already pregnant. What other shenanigans am I going to get into?”

We’ve all got labels. Like the discount clothing bin at your favorite store. The clothes are discounted cause their odd sizes, or faded, or marked in some way. And so the bin is marked, “As Is.” There’s no other way to buy them, but “as is.” We’re like that. We all come “as is.” And here’s the thing teenagers need: they need to know that they are loved as is, and they are forgiven for their mistakes and for their sins, as is.

Now, forgiving is not excusing. It’s not saying it was okay to do wrong. Forgiving is saying what you did is wrong but I won’t make you pay the price. It is the first step in the remedy for sin. There is this great truth:

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4.32


There’s this brief episode in Acts where it says that Paul and Barnabas, the great missionaries to the whole non-Jewish world, are getting ready to go on another missionary journey. Barnabas wants to take a young man named John Mark. But Paul says no because Paul thinks John Mark is immature and unreliable. Paul and Barnabas argue about it the disagreement becomes so intense that they split over it. Barnabas ends up taking John Mark with him and Paul finds another partner in Silas.


Now, Paul had his reasons. But Barnabas did what was needful. John Mark may have been unreliable and immature, but he didn’t stay that way. Because he knew he was forgiven. He knew that because Barnabas showed him that. John Mark was a young man who became what God wanted him to be because someone decided to forgive him his faults and help him to grow. Barnabas name, by the way, means “son of encouragement.” Our kids need more Barnabases in their lives.

Teenagers Need Parents

Point: Parents Provide Rules and Relationship


“Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22.6


When I had kids nobody specifically told me that I would also have to train them. But you do. It’s like getting a puppy. They are cute and cuddly, but cute and cuddly only go so far. Then you have teach them where to go potty and what they can and cannot chew on. This is what parents do for their kids. One of the best images of parenting also comes from the animal kingdom and the example of the Emperor Penguin. The female Emperor penguin lays an egg and transfers it to the male. The female goes to sea for weeks to feed and replenish. She’s exhausted. While she’s gone, the male Emperor penguin sits the egg on his feet and then just waits and watches. . .for weeks. He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t hang with the other penguins. He doesn’t watch tv. He just stands there warming this egg on his feet. Seemingly nothing happens. But he stays there. He’s a parent.

-Show clips of baby penguins first steps and battle scene from Braveheart

Parents must be patient and giving. Parents are called to protect and nurture their kids. Parents do this by providing rules in the context of relationship. Now, this maybe a little easier to do when our kids are in the cute and cuddly stage. But many teenagers don’t want to cuddle, at least not with their parents. So parenting teens looks less like papa penguin with baby penguin and more like an episode of Malcolm in the Middle. Even so, teenagers still need training. They need to be provided with rules in the context of nurturing relationship. Teenagers need parents to do this. They are not going to get what they need from parents anywhere else.

It’s difficult being a parent of a teenager today. Why is this so? Because it’s difficult being a teenager today.

“We have never been their age in this age.”

That awareness brings wisdom for us. We don’t know what it’s like to be a teenager in 2010. But we should also take some comfort knowing that as much as the technology and other things have changed, some things remain the same.

“Youth today love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, no respect for older people, and talk nonsense when they should be working. Young people do not stand up any longer when adults enter the room. They contradict their parents, talk too much in company, guzzle their food, lay their legs on the table and tyrannize their elders.” Socrates, 500 B.C.

Our contemporary response to teenagers has tended to be one of isolation and separation – they are their own separate exhibit in the human zoo. We created this thing called adolescence in which, at best, we encourage youth to have their own separate activities, music and entertainments. But adolescence is a no-man’s land between childhood and adulthood, particularly where boundaries and rules in the context of meaningful adult relationships are lacking. We send them away to youth retreat, youth camp, youth dances. There is nothing wrong with these activities. There is a lot right with them. But what is often missing are the activities where adults mentor kids in specific skills and interests. What is missing in our culture are rites of passage for youth into adulthood.

Other times and cultures stressed rites of passage much more. The Gospel Story of the young Jesus going to the Temple during the Passover festival without his parents is an example of a rite of passage. For the Jews of Jesus’ day, it was the law that every adult male that lived within fifteen miles of Jerusalem had to attend Passover. Also, a Jewish boy became a man when he turned twelve years old.

Let me say that again – a Jewish boy became a man at age twelve.

And when that happened the boy became a son of the law. This meant he took the obligations of the law upon himself. It was his responsibility, not his parents, to follow the law of God. So the twelve year old Jesus went to the Passover festival with his parents. They all went to the great Temple. But when his parents left, he lingered behind. Joseph and Mary were well on their way home before they realized their son was missing. And this is not that surprising. The people traveled as a caravan and the women traveled with the women and the men with men. And each parent probably assumed the boy was with other parent. But when they realize their mistake, they are alarmed and they go back to Jerusalem to look for their son. They find him still at the Temple where he is. . .

“sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.” Luke 2.46

In other words, he is being a student. He is not dominating the conversation but he is learning from the teachers and engaging with them. And he is impressing them with his astute answers. His parents find him there and his mother says,

“Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been looking for you. We’ve been worried.” Verse 48

That sounds about right, doesn’t it? This is every mother’s response, which is not to be wondered at coming from the Blessed Mother. She points out to her son that he did something unexpected. He was supposed to be with them. Dare I say, he broke a rule. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that the young Jesus was probably a pretty good kid. I’ve known parents who thought their kids walked on water, but hey, Mary’s kid really did. I don’t imagine Jesus had many timeouts in his life. And yet, still, there was this family with these parents and this nurturing relationship of boundaries, and life, and expectations to be met, all expressed in the mother’s heart-felt question, Why did you treat us this way?

Now listen to what Jesus says, which, by the way, are the first words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels:

“Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Luke 2.49

I have been asked before when I thought Jesus first knew that He was the Son of God?
Here. This moment. His coming of age into a Jewish man corresponded to his coming to full awareness of being the Son of Man and Son of God. William Barclay notes that if it had happened to him as a baby or a young child he would have been a monstrosity. As a young man it came in a blazing realization, but it came gracefully and we must say, humbly.

Notice how gently Jesus uses the my Father with the capital F for the first time. He claims his identity without rejecting his earthly father and mother. This discovery of identity did not make him proud. Remember when the Beatles John, Paul, George, and Ringo, all barely out of adolescence, claimed to be bigger than God?

Well, the Son of God realizes, yeah, I really am God but. . .yes, mom, I’ll go feed the chickens and take out the garbage now. Here is the divine humility. Joseph and Mary didn’t quite understand it yet.

“He went down with them. . .and was obedient to them” verse 51

Our kids aren’t just like Jesus, yet. They have a lot of growing to do. So do we. It’s been said that, “The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you’re experienced – you’re unemployed.” We are all learning on the job, both teens and adults. We are going to make mistakes. Let’s give each other some grace. Rules are not the glue that holds relationships together. Love is the glue. Rules are tools. Rules are building blocks on the bridge that you are building with your teenager toward adulthood.

Our goal is not perfect teens or perfect parents – rather, our goal is nurturing relationships that use rules, boundaries, and rites of passage to help us all grow into what God desires us to be. With that in mind, what needs to change in your family? Does your family need more specific rules and boundaries? Do you need to make more time for rites of passage – like learning a new skill with your child or grandchild, going hunting together, or taking a special trip together?

We all know about God’s love for us. Do we expect to live in God’s house of love without any rules or responsibility? Are you a person that needs to start living into some rules and boundaries that God wants for you?

Worship in Spirit

I want you to think of one of your favorite places. Go there in your mind’s eye. It could be a vacation spot. It could be a place you go camping. It could be your hometown. What about the place makes it special for you? Now, think about one of your least favorite places. Why is this place so unattractive to you?

Believe it or not your favorite and least favorite places have at least one thing in common – they have the power of place. They elicit feelings and emotions from you. For example, I sat in the car of a world-class roller-coaster the other day. This coaster speeds you up to 120mph in four seconds and then goes straight up in the air. As I waited for the ride to start, my feelings of anticipation and nervousness rose. The boy sitting next to me asked me if I was scared. Places bring out different feelings in us. The controversy over the proposed mosque at the site of the World Trade Center memorial comes to mind. The place is stirring strong emotion and heated debate. There is power in “place.”

We come upon this idea as we listen to the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman who is drawing water at her village’s well. The woman broaches the subject of where is the best place to worship God.

“Sir, I see that you are prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” John 4.19-20

When the woman says “this mountain” she means Mount Gerizim. Gerizim was a place where Abraham and Jacob had made altars. In Deuteronomy it says that Gerizim is the place where the people are to go to be blessed. So for the Samaritans, who lacked most of the Old Testament outside of the first five books, anytime scripture referred to “the good mountain” they took it to mean Mount Gerizim. They had strong feelings about it. The Jews had equal or greater feelings about Jerusalem. The woman points out to Jesus, “ you (as a Jew) say Jerusalem is the right place to worship God.” It’s an interesting side note to mention that the Jews didn’t always believe this. Well, at least not all of them. There was controversy during the time of the Judges, during David’s day and the building of the Temple under his son Solomon. Some other sites, “high places”, were touted by some as the right place to worship God. But eventually the Temple in Jerusalem won out. If you were a true worshiper, at least once, you made the trek to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple.

Jesus response to the woman’s question is pretty revealing. First, he tells the woman that times are changing.

“The hour is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.” John 4.23

The woman is interested in the place to worship and Jesus turns the conversation to the better way to approach God. Earlier in this Gospel John describes the scene of Jesus angrily clearing out the money changers from the Temple. The zeal of the Lord was upon Jesus as he made the point of saying you’ve made this place a flea market instead of a house of prayer. So certainly, the Temple in Jerusalem was not unimportant to Jesus. But then he refers to a new temple, the temple of himself.

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2.19

Not only did Jesus fulfill this promise, but the fact is his death and resurrection meant the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem as a viable religious system. “After Jesus offered the sacrifice that would put away the sins of the world, what place would there be for a temple in which the central act was the offering of the bodies of animals on the altar? When Jesus died, the temple died as the center of a religious system.” (Leon Morris) This was true not just for Jewish Christians but relatively soon for all Jews, where the sacred place of worship moved from Temple to local synagogue, each viable community having its own sacred space.

So the answer to the question of where is the right place to worship God did indeed change. It went from high places, Mount Gerizim and Jerusalem, to synagogue and, in the case of the early Christian Way, the house church. But Jesus introduces a new idea – the way you worship is more important than where you worship. The right way to worship is “in spirit and truth.”

What does this mean? It means we worship the Jesus way. Jesus is the way to the Father. So in our spirits we approach the Father not “by buildings made with human hands” but by a spirit right before God.

Psalm 24 speaks of this reality – “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. . .such is the company of those who seek him.” 24.3-6

Likewise in the New Testament , the one who worships the Lord is the one who presents themselves utterly and honestly before God.

“I urge you brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12.1

To worship in spirit is to be completely present before God. We present ourselves – this is “spiritual worship.” St. Paul continues on this theme in the first letter to the Corinthians:

“Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3.16-17

You are the temple of God. Not some high places. Not some holy mountain. Not even Jerusalem. You are the place where God’s Spirit lives. You are that temple. All this has been made possible by “the mercies of God” revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.


The old hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, speaks of the experience of the believer who calls upon the presence of God in worship. It speaks of “raising an Ebenezer” which is a makeshift stone or wood altar. Where do I raise this altar? Here. Wherever I am, (I don’t even have to have stone or wood), I raise my heart as the altar of worship to a holy God. Take my heart, Lord and seal it. The believer can call upon God anywhere, anytime.
We are living temples. We are literally the moving church. It’s not that places and spaces aren’t important. It’s just that they are not as important as the way we worship God. How do we worship God rightly? How do we “ascend the hill of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart?”

We honor God with our best in worship. So our best might start with how we get ready physically, emotionally, intellectually. Are you showing up for worship rested and ready or are you drained and dead? Some people get ready by putting on their best clothing. Some people don’t feel ready to worship unless they have a suit and tie on or their best dress. For others, being ready is being comfortable, and discomfort would stand in the way of being real before God. I say, dress the way that best readies you for worship.

Are you showing up for worship with an openness to God’s Spirit and God’s Word? Are you teachable? Is your mind quick to engage and ask questions? Do you present yourself humbly and willingly before God? Do you sing with passion even if you can’t sing? You do pray with intensity even if you don’t know how to pray?

When I asked you to imagine your favorite places, did any of you keep your eyes open because right here is one of those places? If not, I wonder, is it because of the place or is it because of us?


Let me take you back to one of my favorite places – to that rollercoaster seat. Imagine the anticipation and excitement you feel. You are nervous. You are even a little bit scared for your life. You know you are not in control. But it starts, maybe slowly for you at first. You ascend, clink, clink, clink. . .and before you know it you are up higher. You see things you didn’t see before. You are awed and amazed. And still you anticipate what comes next. Because now the ride really begins and it’s humbling and thrilling at the same time. And you feel alive. You laugh and scream and you raise your hands. Nobody tells you to do these things. They just happen naturally, from your spirit, if you will. And every twist and turn, up and down, you are fully engaged, gripping and holding on for your life. The ride comes to an end and it seems so short you are disappointed. But you are pleased and grateful and you turn to the person next you and smile and say wasn’t that amazing! Maybe you even get right back in line to do it again.

This is how worship should be. This is what it means to worship “in spirit.” For worship is a giving of yourself completely. It is putting yourself in the hands of the living God, which is always a dangerous thing to do, but also a very thrilling thing to do. When we worship in spirit, without a doubt we know that we have been in the presence of God. We leave changed by the experience. We leave awed and grateful. We leave wanting more. What would our church and community look like if we came ready to worship every week? What would we look like?

The Gift


Have you ever been given a gift you didn’t want? It’s happened to me. I’m sure it’s happened to you. What do you do with it? You can’t throw it away. Do you wait an appropriate amount of time and then regift it to someone else? My sister once received what she described as an ugly dinner plate. She had a yard sale and put the plate out for sale, cheap. And guess what happened? The friend who gave her the plate showed up at the yard sale. My sister was mortified, especially when the woman asked how much is that adorable dinner plate? My sister said, “For ten cents, it’s yours.”

Not receiving a gift with graciousness can be very offensive to the giver. In the movies you have those scenes where the intrepid traveler is in a foreign land among aboriginal peoples and the traveler is offered a banquet of roasted insects and worm sushi. He doesn’t want to eat it but knows it would be deeply offensive to the natives of he doesn’t. When you were a kid and Aunt Edna made her awful tuna noodle casserole, you didn’t want to eat but you knew you had to. All eyes were on you. What’s more, you had to say thank you Aunt Edna and sound like you meant it.

We all know about bad gifts. But is there ever a time in our lives when someone wants to give us a good gift and we refuse simply because we do not understand the value of it?

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler, and a teacher of Israel. He was by these standards, the standards of his day and culture, simply one of the best people around. We have every reason to believe that he was a good, honest, and wise man. He certainly was respected by his community. Nicodemus comes to Jesus seeking some understanding. He begins the conversation with:

“Rabbi, we know you are teacher sent by God; no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” John 3.2

Nicodemus was saying, look, anyone in their right mind can see that there is something special about you, that God is with you. Nicodemus is showing that he is a seeker. He wants to understand.

Jesus is good at knowing what people need and getting to the heart of the matter. He says,

“Very truly I tell you no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
John 3.3

Another good way to translate that last part is, “unless he is born from above.” John often uses words with multiple meanings is this is one of those times. Let’s look at “born again” first. Because this is what Nicodemus picks up on. He questions Jesus, what, I must climb back into my mother’s belly? Nicodemus is being facetious. He is learned man and teacher well acquainted to truth expressed in metaphor. But that doesn’t mean he understands what Jesus is saying to him.

“Very truly I tell you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I told you you must be born again.” John 3.5-7

The language of water and flesh and even Spirit have something to do with the forgiveness of the one who believes. If we believe in Christ we will be forgiven. But Jesus is saying much more than this. This language he uses is the language of origin. If you put earth and water and an acorn together you get an oak tree. If you put human flesh together you get a human. But, what if you want the human to be more than flesh that will by its nature, like the sturdy oak, eventually die? You must birth it with something that is spiritual, eternal. It must be birthed from above.

Jesus didn’t come to start a religion in which decent people could strive to be better, or even, that bad people might become good. Jesus came so that dead people could become alive again. Jesus came so that we can have New Life!

In the movie Forrest Gump there is that scene where Forrest and Lieutenant Dan are in a bar near Times Square on New Year’s Eve. And they’re in this bar with a couple girls who are, shall we say, of low repute. But they are there watching the ball drop on television and the one girl dreamily stares at the tv and says, “Don’t you just love New Year’s. It’s a chance to start over. Everyone gets to start over.”

But the problem with that is, yes, the year might be new, but I’m still the same person starting the new year. Nothing about the calendar turning can change me. I need some outside help. Some spiritual help. Some help from above.

What if there was someone willing to give us this gift of a new start and a new life? Wouldn’t we want that? Wouldn’t that be worth unwrapping?

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him in this way no longer. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5.16-17

This is the reality of what it means to believe and trust in God through Jesus Christ. God does something in us when we believe. The word believe is found 98 times in this Gospel, in part, to emphasize that the believing and trusting is our part, but the saving is God’s part. There is no amount of human effort that can earn or attain salvation and new life. This is God’s doing. And John has a word to describe this great thing:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3.16
This is perhaps the best known verse in the whole Bible. Don’t let over-familiarity allow you to miss it. Did you catch it? God so loved the world that he gave. He gave the world a gift. And when He gave he didn’t hold anything back. It was the very best gift he had to give. He gave his Son.

I know many of you pray for and honor our service men and women who are serving around the world, particularly those who are in combat. With sorrow we look at names and faces in the paper and on the news of those who have fallen in the line of duty. In their deep grief, the families of those soldiers must wonder if they have given a gift that has gone unappreciated by many in this country and around the world.

The story is told of a man who during the difficult days of World War I took his boy for a walk. The small boy noticed that there were stars in the windows of some of the houses they passed.

“Dad, why are there stars in some of the windows.” His father replied that is comes from this terrible war we are in. The stars show that these people have given a son.”

The boy went on silently for awhile. Then he looked up and there was the evening star, shining brightly in the sky. The boy said, “Dad, God must have given a Son, too.”

God gave a gift. Could it be a gift that some have not receive because they don’t know what it cost and how good it is?

Can you see why Jesus was so forceful – Ýou must be born again.

This is it. This is the opportunity, Jesus is telling us. There is no one other way. Money can’t help. Power can’t help. Self-improvement won’t get it. You must receive the gift. Believe and receive. If you are in your forties or older, would you consider that you can have a new life and become the person you were meant to be? If you are young, would you consider you are meant for God’s life and that to wait any longer is to just cheat yourself out of the best gift you could ever receive? What would our church look like if we all received the gift God is offering? And what would happen in our community if we all began to live in God’s life and power today?

God gave us the great gift of new life. Who wouldn’t want that?