| Title: | Discussions from a Christian Perspective |
| Notice: | Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome! |
| Moderator: | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE |
| Created: | Mon Sep 17 1990 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1362 |
| Total number of notes: | 61362 |
TITLE: "Full Participants"
TITLE:
TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11
TEXT:
PURPOSE: To convince the congregation that they are called to
PURPOSE:
be full participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
INTRODUCTION:
A. Paul writes with great joy to the Philippians that
A. Paul writes with great joy to the Philippians that
they have been full participants with him by sharing in
they have been full participants with him
the gospel message since he first shared it with them.
B. We, like the church at Philippi, are called to be full
B. We, like the church at Philippi, are called to be full
participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
PROBLEM: The problem is that our surrounding culture is full
PROBLEM: The problem is that our surrounding culture is full
of choices that point us in many directions.
of choices that point us in many directions.
A. We have succeeded in making Christmas a non-religious
A. We have succeeded in making Christmas a non-religious
event.
event.
1. Christmas has been accomodated to the culture.
1. Christmas has been accomodated to the culture.
a. We skip the belief at Christmas and go right
a. We skip the belief at Christmas and go right
to the celebration.
to the celebration.
b. We skip the theology and go right to Santa
b. We skip the theology and go right to Santa
Clause and the Ho, Ho, Ho.
Clause and the Ho, Ho, Ho.
2. Christmas has been secularized.
2. Christmas has been secularized.
a. We can buy the gifts, hear the Christmas
a. We can buy the gifts, hear the Christmas
music, sing of Rudolf and stars and snow.
music, sing of Rudolf and stars and snow.
b. We can completely ignore the Christian
b. We can completely ignore the Christian
belief that not only was Jesus born, but the
belief that not only was Jesus born, but the
Christ was born.
Christ was born.
B. We can't remember a time when our world has been
B. We can't remember a time when our world has been
without war.
without war.
1. Yesterday, people gathered to mark 50 years since
1. Yesterday, people gathered to mark 50 years since
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
2. We've listened to the news stories this past week
2. We've listened to the news stories this past week
and are reminded that there were and are different
and are reminded that there were and are different
views of that event.
views of that event.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES: Our choices are not always clear - it is
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES: Our choices are not always clear
like we are traveling on a road and we come to an intersection
with many roads leading out in all directions, but the sign
posts are missing. What choice do we make?
A. In many ways the Philippians had more difficult
A. In many ways the Philippians had more difficult
choices.
choices.
1. They were citizens made up of many mixed racial
1. They were citizens made up of many mixed racial
backgrounds.
backgrounds.
2. Roman gods such as Jupiter and Mars had their
2. Roman gods such as Jupiter and Mars had their
cults.
cults.
3. This small Christian community was beset with
3. This small Christian community was beset with
growing pains.
growing pains.
B. We have serious choices too.
B. We have serious choices too.
1. We can choose to make Christmas different.
1. We can choose to make Christmas different.
a. Christmas should be different because the
a. Christmas should be different because the
baby from Christmas grew into a man who
baby from Christmas grew into a man who
announced that this is what God says.
announced that this is what God says.
1) Pray for those who persecute you.
1) Pray for those who persecute you.
2) He told the powerful that the meek will
2) He told the powerful that the meek will
inherit the earth.
inherit the earth.
3) Jesus announced that the peacemakers
3) Jesus announced that the peacemakers
are the children of God not the pious.
are the children of God not the pious.
4) He said anyone can love his friends,
4) He said anyone can love his friends,
but we should love our enemies.
but we should love our enemies.
5) Not only should we not kill, but being
5) Not only should we not kill, but being
angry with your brother or sister offends
angry with your brother or sister offends
God.
God.
6) He said even if you think an evil
6) He said even if you think an evil
thought, you've already committed it in
thought, you've already committed it in
your heart.
your heart.
b. Christmas should be different because God
b. Christmas should be different because God
entered human history in a dramatic way.
entered human history in a dramatic way.
1) God entered human history to announce
1) God entered human history to announce
that the Kingdom of God was at hand.
that the Kingdom of God was at hand.
2) We are called to be full participants
2) We are called to be full participants
in that coming Kingdom.
in that coming Kingdom.
2. We can choose to make this a world without war.
2. We can choose to make this a world without war.
a. Last week we lit the Advent candle of Hope.
a. Last week we lit the Advent candle of Hope.
Our hope comes from God. Because God chose to
come and live with us.
b. On this second Sunday in Advent we light the
b. On this second Sunday in Advent we light the
Advent Candle of Peace.
Advent Candle of Peace.
1) We can envision a future of peace
1) We can envision a future of peace
because of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
because of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
_____
2) We can envision a future of peace
2) We can envision a future of peace
because of the vision of Jesus the Christ.
because of the vision of Jesus the Christ.
______
SOLUTION: Paul offers himself as an example of being a full
SOLUTION: Paul offers himself as an example of being a full
participant in the ministry of Jesus in the midst of
participant in the ministry of Jesus in the midst of
opposition.
opposition.
A. Paul's letter to the Phillipian Church includes this
A. Paul's letter to the Phillipian Church includes this
prayer - "that your love may overflow more and more with
prayer - "that your love may overflow more and more with
knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what
knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what
is best."
is best."
1. Paul prays that their love for one another will
1. Paul prays that their love for one another will
increase.
increase.
2. Paul prays that this love will be reinforced with
2. Paul prays that this love will be reinforced with
knowledge and full insight.
knowledge and full insight.
3. Paul prays that this fellowship of love refined
3. Paul prays that this fellowship of love refined
by knowledge will enable them to determine what is
by knowledge will enable them to determine what is
best.
best.
4. Paul envisions this fellowship to be informed by
4. Paul envisions this fellowship to be informed by
both the heart and the head. What informs your
both the heart and the head.
belief?
B. Paul demonstrates our capacity to know the Christ and
B. Paul demonstrates our capacity to know the Christ and
to know God.
to know God.
1. It takes a miracle for many of us to believe, but
1. It takes a miracle for many of us to believe,
many of us are not going to see a miracle in our
life time.
2. Paul never knew Jesus personally. Outside of the
2. Paul never knew Jesus personally.
small group of people living in Judea and Galilee
during the three years of Jesus' active ministry
that could see him and hear him, everyone else -
everyone else only heard about him.
a. Paul had a religious experience. Paul
a. Paul had a religious experience.
argued that you didn't have to be there to know
Jesus. Well, you and I are 2,000 years removed
from that experience. What are the roots of
your belief? Is it the miracles that grab you?
Or what? What makes you Christian?
b. Most of us are not going to have a religious
b. Most of us are not going to have a religious
experience like Paul - a visual, auditory
experience like Paul
vision of Christ. We are not apt to hear
voices and see visions.
3. We are able to develop our own religious
3. We are able to develop our own religious
experience.
experience.
a. Through our intellect, reason, and feelings,
a. Through our intellect, reason, and feelings,
at a level consistant with our contemporary
at a level consistant with our contemporary
knowledge, we are able to experience God.
knowledge, we are able to experience God.
b. God seeks to know you and to have you know
b. God seeks to know you and to have you know
God.
God.
c. Jesus came to tell us this.
c. Jesus came to tell us this.
1) That God was in him, compelling him to
1) That God was in him, compelling him to
share with us the possibility of knowing
share with us the possibility of knowing
God.
God.
2) When we know God, then the signs are
2) When we know God, then the signs are
there. As we are jouneying down that road
there.
of life and we come to the intersection
where we need to make a choice as to which
direction to take, the signs are there.
3) Then we are able to make a choice - the
3) Then we are able to make a choice - the
choice to be full participants in the
choice to be full participants in the
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
CONCLUSION: Now - during Advent is the time to reassess our
CONCLUSION: Now - during Advent is the time to reassess our
lives.
lives.
A. Advent is the time to prepare for the birth of Jesus
A. Advent is the time to prepare for the birth of Jesus
the Christ.
the Christ.
1. But the birth isn't the end of our belief.
1. But the birth isn't the end of our belief.
2. The birth is the beginning - the beginning of our
2. The birth is the beginning - the beginning of our
faith.
faith.
B. Advent is the time to choose to accept the gift of
B. Advent is the time to choose to accept the gift of
Christ.
Christ.
1. It is the time to decide whether to live a life
1. It is the time to decide whether to live a life
of conflict, confrontation and confusion.
of conflict, confrontation and confusion.
2. Or we can choose to reach for that peace that we
2. Or we can choose to reach for that peace that we
have, as yet, been able to grasp.
have, as yet, been able to grasp.
C. Advent is the time to become full participants in the
C. Advent is the time to become full participants in the
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
1. Place your life in God's care.
1. Place your life in God's care.
2. Only then will you have something that is
2. Only then will you have something that is
eternal.
eternal.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 357.1 | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | Passionate Peace | Mon Dec 02 1991 23:51 | 9 | |
Ron,
I liked what I could read of the message....I'm getting some
"extra stuff" on my screen. And part of the text appears to be off
the screen.
It is possible to edit? Or is it just me?
Richard
| |||||
| 357.2 | Microsoft Word & Kermit problem (and mine) | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Tue Dec 03 1991 11:40 | 10 |
The extra and missing stuff from (.0) comes from using Microsoft Word
on my pc at home and sending the file via kermit to my vms node at
work. The double stuff is the way that is used for "bold".
I'll try to fix the doc up and repost it.
Regards,
Ron
| |||||
| 357.3 | the edited (.0), sorry for the goof | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Tue Dec 03 1991 11:59 | 218 |
TITLE: "Full Participants"
TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11
PURPOSE: To convince the congregation that they are called to
be full participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
A. Paul writes with great joy to the Philippians that
they have been full participants with him by sharing in
the gospel message since he first shared it with them.
B. We, like the church at Philippi, are called to be full
participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
PROBLEM: The problem is that our surrounding culture is full
of choices that point us in many directions.
A. We have succeeded in making Christmas a non-religious
event.
1. Christmas has been accomodated to the culture.
a. We skip the belief at Christmas and go right
to the celebration.
b. We skip the theology and go right to Santa
Clause and the Ho, Ho, Ho.
2. Christmas has been secularized.
a. We can buy the gifts, hear the Christmas
music, sing of Rudolf and stars and snow.
b. We can completely ignore the Christian
belief that not only was Jesus born, but the
Christ was born.
B. We can't remember a time when our world has been
without war.
1. Yesterday, people gathered to mark 50 years since
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
2. We've listened to the news stories this past week
and are reminded that there were and are different
views of that event.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES: Our choices are not always clear - it is
like we are traveling on a road and we come to an intersection
with many roads leading out in all directions, but the sign
posts are missing. What choice do we make?
A. In many ways the Philippians had more difficult
choices.
1. They were citizens made up of many mixed racial
backgrounds.
2. Roman gods such as Jupiter and Mars had their
cults.
3. This small Christian community was beset with
growing pains.
B. We have serious choices too.
1. We can choose to make Christmas different.
a. Christmas should be different because the
baby from Christmas grew into a man who
announced that this is what God says.
1) Pray for those who persecute you.
2) He told the powerful that the meek will
inherit the earth.
3) Jesus announced that the peacemakers
are the children of God not the pious.
4) He said anyone can love his friends,
but we should love our enemies.
5) Not only should we not kill, but being
angry with your brother or sister offends
God.
6) He said even if you think an evil
thought, you've already committed it in
your heart.
b. Christmas should be different because God
entered human history in a dramatic way.
1) God entered human history to announce
that the Kingdom of God was at hand.
2) We are called to be full participants
in that coming Kingdom.
2. We can choose to make this a world without war.
a. Last week we lit the Advent candle of Hope.
Our hope comes from God. Because God chose to
come and live with us.
b. On this second Sunday in Advent we light the
Advent Candle of Peace.
1) We can envision a future of peace
because of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
2) We can envision a future of peace
because of the vision of Jesus the Christ.
SOLUTION: Paul offers himself as an example of being a full
participant in the ministry of Jesus in the midst of
opposition.
A. Paul's letter to the Phillipian Church includes this
prayer - "that your love may overflow more and more with
knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what
is best."
1. Paul prays that their love for one another will
increase.
2. Paul prays that this love will be reinforced with
knowledge and full insight.
3. Paul prays that this fellowship of love refined
by knowledge will enable them to determine what is
best.
4. Paul envisions this fellowship to be informed by
both the heart and the head. What informs your
belief?
B. Paul demonstrates our capacity to know the Christ and
to know God.
1. It takes a miracle for many of us to believe, but
many of us are not going to see a miracle in our
life time.
2. Paul never knew Jesus personally. Outside of the
small group of people living in Judea and Galilee
during the three years of Jesus' active ministry
that could see him and hear him, everyone else -
everyone else only heard about him.
a. Paul had a religious experience. Paul
argued that you didn't have to be there to know
Jesus. Well, you and I are 2,000 years removed
from that experience. What are the roots of
your belief? Is it the miracles that grab you?
Or what? What makes you Christian?
b. Most of us are not going to have a religious
experience like Paul - a visual, auditory
vision of Christ. We are not apt to hear
voices and see visions.
3. We are able to develop our own religious
experience.
a. Through our intellect, reason, and feelings,
at a level consistant with our contemporary
knowledge, we are able to experience God.
b. God seeks to know you and to have you know
God.
c. Jesus came to tell us this.
1) That God was in him, compelling him to
share with us the possibility of knowing
God.
2) When we know God, then the signs are
there. As we are jouneying down that road
of life and we come to the intersection
where we need to make a choice as to which
direction to take, the signs are there.
3) Then we are able to make a choice - the
choice to be full participants in the
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
CONCLUSION: Now - during Advent is the time to reassess our
lives.
A. Advent is the time to prepare for the birth of Jesus
the Christ.
1. But the birth isn't the end of our belief.
2. The birth is the beginning - the beginning of our
faith.
B. Advent is the time to choose to accept the gift of
Christ.
1. It is the time to decide whether to live a life
of conflict, confrontation and confusion.
2. Or we can choose to reach for that peace that we
have, as yet, been able to grasp.
C. Advent is the time to become full participants in the
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
1. Place your life in God's care.
2. Only then will you have something that is
eternal.
| |||||
| 357.4 | on the author of the sermon | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Tue Dec 03 1991 12:05 | 14 |
BTW, this sermon is my wife's first full blown one - so she's the one
that deserves the kudos and/or critique! This is being done as partial
fulfillment for her Homiletics class at Andover Newton.
I've been attending the evening class with her and that's been great as
she gets to do all the work and I just sit there and soak it all in!
Shalom,
Ron
ps: please don't be shy in critiquing the sermon. It's the second week
of Advent, during which the candle of Peace will be lit.
| |||||
| 357.5 | It settles nice on my heart...so it must be OK! | SWAM1::DOTHARD_ST | PLAYTOE | Tue Dec 03 1991 14:37 | 22 |
RE: 0
Greetings.
I've read the sermon and it is fine. "Critiqueing" a sermon is a
serious undertaking...somewhat like "playing God". The inspiration of
God is personal and in regards to the message it is between God and the
inspired one.
Of course, one could comment on any erroneous dates or names or
scriptural references (ie verse number). But to say that it needs to
be stronger here or there is, IMO, improper...because it is written,
"Let a man give out of that he has been given" (something like that).
I find no erroneous information, therefore, my KUDOS to your wife!
I would mention, in prior topics you had asked about "suggestions" for
sermon topics...and I hope you realize, in peace, that among ministers
this could be debated for ever, right! But after the writing is done,
it's in the hands of God....God bless.
Playtoe
| |||||
| 357.6 | on the call for critiquing | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Tue Dec 03 1991 15:48 | 48 |
Re (.5):
You, our professor and ourselves are in agreement that a sermon is only
words until God so touches the heart and mind of the preacher, so as to
inspire the preacher about God's ways and desires for all of us in this
world.
God doesn;t just work on Sundays and I'm hoping that God just might be
touching some of the contributors to this notesfile - so as to add to
the delivery for Sunday.
For example, let's address how one might touch the elderly who have
lived long past their loved ones and most of their friends, who seem
to often be glimpsing at the sunset of their lives, who are often sick,
in pain, poor economically.
Yes, these people are also able to be full participants in the ministry
of Jesus the Christ. A full participant is a participant not the one
who necessarily has to do it all. A full participant is one who has
touched the lives of another, who so tenderly picked up the hand of
another and presented that person before God, a person who in some
not fully understood way placed anothers hands into God's so that the
person could finally say: "There by the Grace of God, go I."
When an older person reached out to call another ailing or lonesome
person, when the older person's lap was an object of comfort for a
child - then our senior friends were full participants in the ministry
of Jesus the Christ.
------
Critiquing can focus on things on the stated purpose being lost, being
unclearly addressed. Critiquing can claim that the sermon is too busy,
that it is trying to address too much in one address, that perhaps
several sermons should come out of the material.
Critiquing could argue that the theological points were not Christian,
that they were too liberal, not liberal enough, that the sermon
contained theological inconsistencies - like, if you claim this then
you cannot claim the other.
The more material (resources) that one works through, the more one
comes to concreteness on one's own ideas and the possibility for an
inspiring sermon.
Shalom,
Ron
| |||||
| 357.7 | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | Passionate Peace | Tue Dec 03 1991 18:13 | 19 | |
Ron, Your spouse is to be commended. Even in outline form, I recognize the superiority of this sermon over the first sermon I ever delivered. My only suggestion is one of proportion or emphasis. I suspect her hearers will already agree with bulk of her message. I suspect her hearers may have greater difficulty coming up with concrete ideas on how they might express their being full participants in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Perhaps a challenge might be issued to prayerfully seek such expressions. It is a preference of mine to include in the sermon something that challenges my hearers. Concerning tying in the message of peace, a phrase I like, which she may feel free to use, is: "God chose to shake up the world not with a bomb..... but with a baby!" Peace, Richard | |||||
| 357.8 | Perhaps a provocative question | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | Passionate Peace | Tue Dec 03 1991 21:01 | 6 |
How about interjecting a question like:
"What makes Christmas a holiday unlike any other?"
Peace,
Richard
| |||||
| 357.9 | CSC32::J_CHRISTIE | Bring me some figgy pudding! | Fri Dec 06 1991 20:19 | 7 | |
Ron,
Please let us know how it goes Sunday. Your spouse and you will
be in my prayers.
Peace,
Richard
| |||||
| 357.10 | the final (almost) draft | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Mon Dec 09 1991 15:05 | 396 |
TITLE: "Full Participants" TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11
I thank you for the opportunity of being here today. Especially
to you, Barry, for giving up the pulpit this Sunday. It is with
great joy that I am here.
INTRODUCTION:
A. It is also with great joy that Paul writes to the
Philippian church. He is full of joy because they have been
full participants with him by sharing in the gospel message
since he first shared it with them.
1. Every time Paul thinks of them he becomes thankful.
a. Paul is not writing to a church he has only
recently established, but to a church he has known
for years.
b. Paul's bond with the church at Philippi is one
of genuine affection.
2. Although Paul's letter to the church at Philippi is
filled with great love and joy, he urges them to a
greater unity among themselves.
a. He urges them to have persistence in faith.
b. Paul insists that they adopt the right
perspective on the future realizing that Christ's
ministry has not yet been fully realized.
c. This passage, that Barbara read this morning,
includes Paul's thanksgiving for the community's
unity and fellowship and a prayer that this love
may grow. "I pray that your love may overflow
more and more with knowledge and full insight to
help you to determine what is best."
B. We, like the church at Philippi, are called to be full
participants in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
1. We are challenged during Advent to prepare for the
birth of the Christ.
2. We are challenged to become peacemakers.
3. We are challenged to prayerfully seek concrete ideas
on how we might express our being full participants in
Christ's ministry.
3. We are challenged to make a difference.
1
PROBLEM: The problem is that our surrounding culture is full of
choices that point us in many directions.
A. We have chosen to make Christmas a non-religious event.
And we have succeeded. At our nearby card shop, they have
the Christmas cards arranged in different categories.
You've seen them. Mother, Father, Grandparent, Sweetheart,
Aunt, Uncle, Son, Daughter - Non-religious.
1. Christmas has been accommodated to the culture.
a. We skip the belief at Christmas and go right to
the celebration.
b. We skip the theology and go right to Santa
Clause and the Ho, Ho, Ho.
2. Christmas has been secularized.
a. We can buy the gifts, hear the Christmas music,
sing of Rudolph and stars and snow.
b. We can completely ignore the Christian belief
that not only was Jesus born, but the Christ was
born.
B. We can't remember a time when our world has been without
war.
1. Yesterday, people gathered to mark 50 years since
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
2. We've listened to the news stories this past week
and are reminded that there were and are different
views of that event. What is our part in all of this?
How can we choose to be peacemakers in a world full of
strife and conflict? Not only in the world, but in our
families as well.
ALTERNATIVE CHOICES: Our choices are not always clear - it is
like we are traveling on a road we've never been on before. You
know what it's like. You're following the route signs
religiously and then you come to an intersection with many roads
leading out in all directions, but the sign posts are missing.
How do you know which way to go? What choice do you make?
2
A. In many ways the Philippians had difficult choices.
1. They were citizens made up of many mixed racial
backgrounds.
2. Roman gods such as Jupiter and Mars had their cults.
3. This small Christian community was beset with
growing pains.
B. We have serious choices too.
1. We can choose to make Christmas different.
a. Christmas should be different because the baby
from Christmas grew into a man who announced that
this is what God says.
1) Pray for those who persecute you.
2) He told the powerful that the meek will
inherit the earth.
3) Jesus announced that the peacemakers are
the children of God not the pious.
4) He said anyone can love his friends, but
we should love our enemies.
5) Not only should we not kill, but being
angry with your brother or sister offends
God.
6) He said even if you think an evil thought,
you've already committed it in your heart.
7) Jesus said, "Don't put your whole life
into things because things get stolen, or
rust, or wear out."
8) Place your life in God's care and only
then will you have something eternal.
b. Christmas should be different because God
entered human history in a dramatic way. God
didn't hit us with a bomb, but came to us in the
form of a baby.
1) God entered human history to announce that
the Kingdom of God was at hand.
2) We are called to be full participants in
that coming Kingdom.
3
2. We can choose to be peacemakers in this world.
a. Last week we lit the Advent candle of Hope.
Our hope comes from God. Because God chose to
come and live with us.
b. On this second Sunday in Advent we light the
Advent Candle of Peace.
1) We can envision a future of peace because
of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
2) We can envision a future of peace because
of the vision of Jesus the Christ.
How can we be full participants? Some of us are older now, with
our loved ones and many friends no longer living. Can we reach
out to another in love? When we call or reach out to a person
who is sick or lonesome, when our lap has comforted a child, then
we have been full participants. Others of us are so busy -
working, trying to raise a family, hardly having time to share a
meal together, never mind buying the groceries or getting the
dishes done. Can we reach out to another in peace? Being a full
participant doesn't mean you have to do it all yourself. A full
participant tenderly takes the hand of another and leads them
into God's presence.
SOLUTION: Paul offers himself as an example of being a full
participant in the ministry of Jesus in the midst of opposition.
Even as he writes to the Philippians from jail, Paul is thankful
that they are full participants in his ministry.
A. "I pray that your love may overflow more and more with
knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is
best."
1. Paul prays that their love for one another will
increase.
2. Paul prays that this love will be reinforced with
knowledge and full insight.
3. Paul prays that this fellowship of love refined by
knowledge will enable them to determine what is best.
4. Paul envisions this fellowship to be informed by
both the heart and the head. What informs your belief?
4
B. Paul demonstrates our capacity to know the Christ and to
know God.
1. It takes a miracle for many of us to believe, but
most of us are not going to see a miracle in our life
time. Certainly there were people who did not know
Jesus, who merely heard of him and as a result became
followers. "I never saw Jesus." I wasn't there either
but I believe in him." Can't you hear the
conversations?
2. Paul never knew Jesus personally either. Outside of
the small group of people living in Judea and Galilee
during the three years of Jesus' active ministry that
could see him and hear him, everyone else - everyone
else only heard about him. That's why we Christians
like Paul so much. Saul, as he was first known came on
the public scene some years after the Crucifixion. He
never heard Jesus teach, never saw Jesus heal. And he
didn't believe it.
a. Then Paul had a religious experience. After
that Paul argued that you didn't have to be there
to know Jesus. Well, you and I are 2,000 years
removed from that experience. What are the roots
of your belief? Is it the miracles that grab you?
Or what? What makes you Christian? What enables
you to be a full participant in Christ's ministry?
b. Most of us are not going to have a religious
experience like Paul - a visual, auditory vision
of Christ. We are not apt to hear voices and see
visions.
3. But, we are able to develop our own religious
experience.
a. Through our intellect, reason, and feelings, at
a level consistent with our contemporary
knowledge, we are able to experience God.
b. God seeks to know you and to have you know God.
c. Jesus came to tell us this.
1) That God was in him, compelling him to
share with us the possibility of knowing God.
5
2) When we know God, then the signs are
there. Remember the road. As we are
journeying down that road of life and we come
to the intersection where we need to make a
choice as to which direction to take,/ when
we know God, /the signs are there.
3) Then we are able to make a choice - the
choice to be full participants in the
ministry of Jesus the Christ.
CONCLUSION: Now - during Advent is the time to reassess our
lives.
A. Advent is the time to prepare for the birth of Jesus the
Christ.
1. But the birth isn't the end of our belief.
2. The birth is the beginning - the beginning of our
faith.
B. Advent is the time to choose to accept the gift of
Christ.
1. It is the time to decide whether to live a life of
conflict, confrontation and confusion.
2. Or we can choose to reach for that peace that we
have, as yet, been able to grasp.
C. Advent is the time to choose to become full participants
in the ministry of Jesus the Christ.
6
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| 357.11 | thanks for comments, prayers | OLDTMR::FRANCEY | USS SECG dtn 223-5427 pko3-1/d18 | Mon Dec 09 1991 15:09 | 37 |
From: OLDTMR::FRANCEY 9-DEC-1991 13:03:18.68 To: FRANCEY CC: Subj: Richard and others Enclosed is a note from my wife. I guess you might conclude she feels pretty good about her first sermon delivered yesterday. So do I and we thank you for you're comments and prayers. Now she's off working on an ethics paper regarding abortion. The paper is a hypothetical proposal made to the National United Church of Christ calling for that body to proclaim a position on abortion and a plan of action on that position. Good stuff to work through and to discern the ethos, teleology and deontological truths. Shalom, Ron ----------------------------- To: FRANCEY CC: Subj: Richard and others Hi honey, I just read some stuff in the Christian-per and remembered that we want to thank Richard and others for their comments and let them know how wonderful you think I was. Anyway, if you don't have time today, maybe you could write to them tomorrow or sometime this week. Love you lots! ME xxoo :-) | |||||