Interactive Sermon

Sed Theologia (2.3)

KNOWLEDGE OF SELF

A look in the mirror.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, BUT their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

General revelation accomplishes more than making us aware of God. It also provides us with a certain knowledge of ourselves. It begins by planting the questions, 'Where did I come from?' and 'How did I get here?' As a human being, wonder and awe at all we see compels us to ponder, 'What is this all about?' or as Sam asks Froto in The Lord of the Rings, "What sort of a tale have we fallen into?" From the beginning, really, we're cognisant of our self and something other. This is the work of God's first book--general revelation--upon us.

Look again at the lyrics of the song Hallelujahs I posted as entry 2.2 in this series. Do you see how the artist/lyricist makes mention of those things external, the waves and whales, and also the things internal, the beating of his own heart? Do you see how he testifies that there is no language where this testimony of God cannot be heard? Beautiful picture, isn't it? And do you see how he depicts its effect on us--knowledge of self? It draws us to respond with hallelujahs. But...

We come to the verse that starts this post, from Romans chapter one. The context there paints a picture: It is not that God is impossible to find and know, but (great word, eh?) it is that human beings willfully reject him. The consequence of that rejection is that human hearts move further from, while growing colder toward God. They tend not to sing those hallelujahs, in fact, they tend not to acknowledge or thank him, but ignore him.

Proverbs 1:7 offers us this basic truth: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We cannot be wise and knowledgeable people, unless we see ourselves in relation to God. That proverb continues, ...BUT fools despise wisdom and knowledge. As Paul points out in Romans, we've no one to blame but ourselves. Look at the person next to you and say, 'What up, fool?'

The picture that general revelation offers us and humanity's response make it clear that our problem is not a lack of knowledge about God, but rather a refusal to act on that knowledge and live in response to it. As the Proverbs verse and Romans text explain--we've exchanged knowledge for folly.

Have you done the assigned readings thus far? Genesis 1 & 2, Psalm 19, and Romans 1? If you did the reading you've seen, that's not all that humanity has exchanged. We've exchanged a walk in the garden with our God for enmity toward him. We've exchanged intimacy with our God for all sorts of attempts at false intimacy; affection for lesser affections. We've exchanged how it was intended to be for what we wanted.

Knowledge of God and knowledge of self via what is revealed through general revelation (all that we see and experience), paints a picture of our need for God--and our accountability before him. 

Read Genesis 3 and spend some time meditating on a handful of verses within Psalm 119 for next time.

What's On My Mind?

A mind is a terrible thing to baste. Ribs, however...

Social Media ~ My workshop/discussion with local pastors about their use of Social Media this week went pretty well. My Big_Buts Twitter account is likely to surpass 2000 followers before this day is out. What's cool about that is that I'm getting REAL followers there--people who are interested in receiving a big but bible verse each day. No bots. No scammers or spammers. Very cool! And... as I type this I'm trying out a couple of new social media tools and reading some new articles I've found since my workshop. I'll bring you reviews soon. A good social media week.

Catechlismic ~ Not a spelling error. I made the word up. At Christ's Church we're using the Heidelberg Catechism to outline studies for a few months. I'm really enjoying this. What's more, I'm getting many, many comments from folks who are also enjoying the simple language summary of our faith with the accompanying Biblical texts. Who knew a five-centuries-ago document could be so cool? (I did. Just sayin'...) This Sunday: Q&A 9, 10 & 11. 

Football ~ Patriots in the Super Bowl! Lombardi Trophy coming soon to New England! Oh, and my beloved (and beleaguered) Buccaneers hired a new coach. The guy's a Jesus-Freak. I like that. We need all the (Divine) help we can get. Did you see the Bucs play last year? We need some seas to part, the sun to stand still, the moon to turn to blood... something!

Politics ~ I've grown weary of the Republican Presidential Debates. These guys have taken to tearing each other apart. I've lost interest. I say we ship them all off to an island with Jeff Probst. In 39 days they'll sort it out. One will have Outwitted, Outplayed and Outlasted the others. The tribe has spoken! 

Candidate Survivor ~ Now I'm jazzed. Think of it--we drop them all on an 'island' called real life. Instead of eating bugs and running jungle obstacle courses, they'd have to do OUR lives. They all have to live on a median household income, meeting family needs. They have to go to real jobs and deal with real bosses and work-a-day stresses. They have to deal with the schedules of kids. Schools. Doctor's visits on our budgets and with our insurance (or lack thereof). Face traffic in one of OUR cars, 'Check Engine' light flashing, left front tire leaking, without heat in New England, or without AC in Florida. I'll bet they'd be volunteering to be voted out. I'm going to send Jeff Probst a letter.

Who's Your Jesus?

Who is Jesus Christ?

Was he a historical figure who lived and died, or is he still alive today? Was he a prophet, a rabbi, a moral example? Or was he who he claimed to be? And while we’re at it, just exactly who did he claim to be? Is he, because of his claims, as C.S. Lewis famously articulated on his BBC radio program and in his book Mere Christianity, necessarily either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord?

Is he the Jesus we see in old movies: A blue-eyed, white guy with a well-trimmed beard, who sort of glows, and speaks with a British accent? Or more hip, like a scene from Talladega Nights, perhaps we can picture him however we’d like, “I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt because it says, ‘I want to be formal, but I’m here to party.’”

Is he the Jesus we hear about in song? The Jesus of hymns and praise choruses: What A Friend We Have? Name Above All Names? Is that how we’ll respond to him? Or is it more like I Can Only Imagine? Surrounded by his glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing Hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? 

Or, perhaps, for those less misty, it’s enough that we tap our foot along with the Doobie Brothers: Jesus Is Just Alright With Me! 

Is he the Jesus pop-culture consigns? Jesus as defined by Oprah? Lady Gaga? Sure, John Lennon apologized for his infamous ‘The Beatles are more popular than Jesus’ boast, but among Justin Bieber Beliebers, the Biebs definitely has the upper hand. 

Is he the Jesus we’ve seen in literature? Is he Mary Stevenson’s Lord—you know, the one who assured her that when she only saw one set of footprints in the sand it was because he was carrying her? Or is he the Jesus from William Paul Young’s The Shack—a middle-eastern carpenter who hangs out with a portly African American woman (God) and an Asian looking mirage (the Holy Spirit)?

Is he the Jesus we see represented on CNN? The Lord of demonstrators holding signs that read: ‘God Hates Fags’ and ‘God Is Judging America’? Is he the Lord of the famous ministers caught in sex scandals and televangelists making ridiculously false claims about the end of the world?

Is he the Jesus of Christianity? The Jesus of Mormonism? The Jesus of the Jehovah’s Witnesses? Are they all one and the same, or are they very different?

Is he the Son of God or God in flesh? Yes? To which one? Both? 

The Bible records a conversation Jesus has with his disciples. He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

It’s one thing to consider what others think—John Lennon had an opinion and so did Ricky Bobby. But your answer to the question ‘Who is Jesus?’ is key. It will determine how you live in response. 

 

Sed Theologia (2.2)

In the spirit of the Apostle Paul, in Acts 17, offering "as your own poets have said" in his sharing with the Athenians, I offer these beautifully poetic words from Chris Rice. Note particularly the words in the refrain, "There is no language where you can't be heard."

A purple sky to close the day 
I wade the surf where dolphins play 
The taste of salt, the dance of waves 
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs 

A lightning flash, my pounding heart 
A breaching whale, a shooting star 
Give testimony that You are 
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs 

Oh praise Him all His mighty works 
There is no language where you can't be heard 
Your song goes out to all the earth 
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! 

O cratered moon and sparrows wings 
O thunder's boom and Saturn's rings 
Unveil our Father as you sing 
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs 

The pulse of life within my wrist 
A fallen snow, a rising mist 
There is no higher praise than this 
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs 

Oh praise Him all His mighty works 
There is no language where you can't be heard 
Your song goes out to all the earth 
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! 
O hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

Here's a link if you want to hear tune via YouTube.

But What About God?

I’d suggest that the very first sentence in the Bible—the one that begins with the word Genesis—should prompt a big but in our thinking: But what about God?

            The text begins: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Okay, but who created God? Who is he? Where did he come from? The manner in which the book begins assumes God’s presence in this setting. God is introduced as if the reader already knows him, and in a way that suggests he existed before the beginnings of everything we can register with our senses—those things we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch.

            In our legal system there is an objection that is voiced, “Assumes facts not in evidence.” When a lawyer states that objection he is arguing that the opposing counsel has misled the judge or jury by allowing them to believe something had been established earlier that was not, in fact, specifically testified to—in other words, there is no evidence in the record to support what you’ve just said. In reading the Bible’s first words, this presents one of the larger obstacles for some folks—there doesn’t appear to be any facts in evidence as to the origin of God.

            The Bible, throughout, speaks of God as being eternal, having been from everlasting, and having acted before time began. The Psalms record that Moses prayed: Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. The Psalmist later attests—with a big but no less—that man’s days are numbered, but from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him. Everlasting—implied in that word is that God always was, and that he is, and that he will always be.

            Back to the courtroom—when the objection “Assumes facts not in evidence” is raised, the judge might instruct a lawyer to substantiate the basis for his statement. Genesis unfolds like that. Offering no initial explanation for the existence of God, the writer proceeds immediately to creation’s beginnings—as if creation itself will testify that God, or some manner of intelligent being, was in place already. As the writer of the book of Romans concluded: Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. All of the systems and order that can be apprehended by our senses—seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched—testify clearly that this was no accident. These things came into being by design, with intent and purpose. The Genesis account invites us to stay tuned and watch as this story unfolds.

 

There Are Also These Things Called Books

Have you 'Googled' anything today? No? Have you tried to look anything up on Wikipedia today? 

Popular information websites, reportedly tens of thousands of them, are protesting today. Among the well-known, Google blackened it's banner and Wikipedia simply blackened their site for 24 hours. They're protesting two bills currently making the rounds on Capital Hill having to do with piracy--not of the Captain Jack Sparrow variety, of the intellectual and artistic property variety.

So no wiki today? Will the world come to an end?

There are these things called books.

Back before information was a click away, it was a page-turn away. I'm not worried.

Nor am I worried that the Googles and Wikipedias will being going dark permanently. I have to trust that the battle over intellectual and artistic property will rage on, but not impact our insatiable appetite for information that technology can so swiftly satisfy. And where there's an appetite, there's a way.

Consider this: Moments after Wikipedia went black today, the internet sprang to life with dozens of ways users can bypass the blackout. Seems it's only Wiki's English page, so if you go to another language and then hit 'translate'... Seems they also neglected to blacken iOS browser versions, so if you Wiki on your phone or tablet... Seems they also left a few back doors open, so if you add thus and so to the address...

Worry not, info junkies and internet freedom fighters. The internet, legal and or bootlegged, won't let you down. 

Sed Theologia (2.1)

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

So what do we know?

Man does not live on bread alone, BUT on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

We tend to hear that verse and think of the setting in Matthew 4 where Jesus is being tempted. The reference, however, hearkens back to Deuteronomy 8 where Moses is reminding the people that God allowed them to hunger and then provided manna from heaven, so that they would recognize He is what ultimately satisfies their longing. 

The passage we began with in the Introduction—Paul’s message to the people of Athens from Acts 17—demonstrates that the people were, already, before Paul engaged them, a religious people. He noted their religious zeal in that they had erected temples and idols to every deity imaginable, including one to ‘An Unknown God.’ The intention was that, when they made rounds bowing to every god, if they left an offering for the Unknown, they’d have covered all bases. There wouldn’t be some unnamed deity out there to feel slighted and take vengeance. He offered, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”

What caused these people to be religiously leaning? The big but above, whether you view it in Deuteronomy or Matthew’s setting, lends insight. We human beings were created with a void for the Divine. There is an internal longing for more than the things of this world. Temporal things offer satisfaction that is fleeting. It all points to a deeper hunger and thirst for the eternal. Our souls cry out.

Theologians have spoken of General Revelation—things that testify to every soul that there is a God. Paul spoke of this, too, when he addressed the Athenians, as he mentioned their lives, their settings, and the times that they found themselves in. Look around, in other words—none of this is by accident.

As you read through Genesis 1 you noted that, at each turn in the creation story, God declared things to be good. There was intention and design in creation. The picture was coming together just as planned. As you read Psalm 19, especially the first 6 verses, you noted how this coming together of creation testified to the existence of God—or at the very least, an intelligent being setting it all in place. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

These things speak of outward General Revelation—what we observe of the systems and the order of creation, all around us, that witnesses of God. The Apostle Paul spoke to people in Romans 1 about this, saying, “What may be known about God is plain, because God made it plain. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

You saw this observation of creation in the Athenian’s religious fervor—they had made temples and idols representing various ‘gods’, the god of the harvest, the god of fertility, the god of the sea, and so on. They saw the systems and order and attributed it all to higher beings. Then they wanted to be sure to bow to all of those supposed beings so as to stay in their good graces. In other words, they were compelled to live in response to deity. General Revelation—internal and external—that appetite within that longed to connect with something ‘other’ and the testimony of all that is seen that something ‘other’ exists that is the master of it all, work hand in hand to lead us into a pursuit to acquire a knowledge of God.

So we embark on an expedition. Give Genesis 2 and Romans 1:18-32 a read for next time. Pay particular attention to the buts you come across.