Bonhoeffer – Plattsville Church

A Christian is less about avoiding sin, than actively doing God’s will

I want to think a little bit about a quote from Bonhoeffer. Its really deep – okay most of what he writes is deep. But this one quote gets me every time. He says this:

Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.

And I think that is so true. The reason that I don’t think that “sheltering” or “Christian Bubble” thinking or practice works is because the focus is off. In those paradigms the focus is to avoid sin, to stay safe, to be cautious, and only to be involved with things that are “approved” (by whomever has the authority). And please hear me clearly, I’m certainly not against avoiding sin or avoiding dangerous or compromising situations. My issue is with the central focus.

In the “sheltering” or “Christian Bubble” thinking the central focus is actually sin. Sure the focus is avoiding sin, but the focus is still sin. The entire paradigm is driven by fear (don’t fall into sin) negativity (don’t don’t don’t) and staying “safe”. And this is Bonhoeffer’s point. The central activity of being a Christian isn’t what you are again, staying safe, or of fear of the world.

The central mark of being a Christian is courageously following God.

Focusing on following God needs to be the central defining aspect of a Christians life. And yes that entails avoiding sin, and compromising situations but those are secondary to the primary Christian calling: courageously following Christ.

My point is that Bonhoeffer is right. The focus of Christianity isn’t just about avoiding sin, but courageously doing God’s calling. Christianity isn’t best thought of as a retreat, or evacuation from the world, or a refuge from the world; it is best thought of as an adventure in partnering with God to save the world.

Theological Musings

The Future of the Church Isn’t Our Youth…

It’s been pretty customary to hear for years this phrase, “The youth are the future of the church”. And I certainly understand and agree with the sentiments behind that statement. But it’s actually a bit misleading on two fronts.

First, the youth aren’t the future of the church…they are the church now. Since when are committed followers of Jesus not fully functional members of the church family? Being part of the church is about a decision to follow Jesus together, not about your age, stage, or whether you are out of high school or not. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are not the future of the church, you are the church. Period.

Secondly, this statement “the youth are the future of the church” is misleading in a much more subtle, and dangerous way. Because the way this phrase functions is to assume that the youth are the guarantee of the future of the church. That if we lose the youth, the church’s future is in danger. So we must pour money, time, and effort into developing the best and most current youth ministries.

But this is wrong for two reasons. First, it distances us from the youth themselves. Rather than being persons to be loved, they become a means to what we want (a church in the future). And secondly, and most dangerously, this idea is actually idolatry.

Let me be clear about why this idea of “youth being the future of the church” is idolatry. Because the future of the church is not guaranteed by getting youth to come to church, it is guaranteed by Jesus Christ. The sustaining and growing of the church is not dependent on wonderful youth ministries, but on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to his bride. And while in some ways this point can seem like semantics, it’s actually important because it’s about priorities.

If we assume that “youth are the future” of the church, we can mistakenly forget that the most important thing isn’t getting youth to come to church, but for all of us to come to Jesus. If anything supplants Jesus from the centre of our thought and practice, we will go off course. Youth ministry is absolutely important (I was a youth pastor for 8 years), but it is not primary. Jesus is at the centre and primary. And whenever anything good, like youth ministry, being missional, family ministry, or any other new thing, pushes Jesus to periphery and takes centre stage we’ve missed the point.

Bonhoeffer puts it this way.

The future of the church is not youth itself but rather the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the task of youth not to reshape the church, but rather to listen to the Word of God; it is the task of the church not to capture the youth, but to teach and proclaim the Word of God.

This is what I mean by priorities. We need to first be centred first on Jesus, and not anything else. It is so easy for the desire to have a cool youth ministry, a missionally based church, or any other desire to move Jesus from the centre. This is what we must guard against, if we want to see the future of the church come to pass. Of course youth ministry, being missional, and relevant are all good things. All I’m saying is that they shouldn’t push aside the best and most important thing – a person – Jesus Christ.

Sermon Reflections

Speaking Truth and Getting Rid of Promises

On Sunday we looked at Jesus’ teaching on oaths, vows, and promises in Matthew 5:33-37. In this teaching Jesus teaches people not to swear oaths by anything earth, God, Jerusalem, or heaven. He summarizes his teaching with saying, just let your yes be yes and your no be no.

And here is why I think if you have to add an oath, a vow, a provision, or an extra promise to something, it points to the fact that trust is low. Dallas Willard puts it this way, “The essence of swearing or making oaths is to try to use something that, though impressive, is irrelevant to the issues at hand to together to believe you and let you have your way. This is wrong. It is unlike God”. And he is so right. The NLT translates the last few sentences of Jesus’ teaching this way, “Just say a simple Yes I will, or No I won’t. Your word is enough. To strengthen our promise with a vow shows that something is wrong”

I think Jesus’ teaching comes down to the point that we need to be people of truth. That as his followers we need to be committed to truth – getting rid of all lies, oaths, vows, and half-truths. Just let every word you speak be truthful.

So we ended with the challenge to be people who speak truth this week. And to help that happen I gave three suggestions.

First, we need to confess to God our sin. This seems a bit counterintuitive but the point is that unless we are truthful with God we will not be able to be truthful with others. Bonhoeffer puts it this way, “Complete truthfulness is only possible where sin has be uncovered and forgiven by Jesus. Only those who are in a state of truthfulness through the confession for their sin to Jesus are not ashamed to tell the truth wherever it must be told”.

Secondly, we talked about needing to speak truth all the time. What this means is that everything I say needs to be true, but I don’t have to say everything that is true. I don’t need to reveal everything I think is true, in every situation. I can have tact, and discernment, but everything I do say or reveal needs to be true. This is our calling as Christians.

And lastly, that we need to speak truth softly. Whenever we use our words as a weapon to hurt, injure, or wound we’ve missed the point. Jesus previously in this chapter has already taught us to rid ourselves of anger. So any words that are spoken without compassion, is just veiled aggression and isn’t to be part of the kingdom. Stanley Hauerwas puts it this way: “Christians are thereby, committed to plain speech. We seek to say no more or no less than what needs to be said. Speech so disciplined is not easily attained. Too often we want to use the gift of speech as a weapon, often a very subtle weapon, to establish our superiority” .

So we ended with a challenge to be people of truth. To confess to God, to speak truth to others, and to speak it softly. This is so important because if we want to have churches, marriages, and communities that are stable, healthy and whole, they need to be built on truth and trust. So go be a person of truth today…

“There is not truth toward Jesus without truth towards other people. Lying destroys community. But truth rends false community and founds genuine fellowship”. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Be a person of Integrity

Take Aways…

What if we actually did what Jesus said?
“The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Old Testament verses point to being people of truth
People swear oaths because of a lack of trust
The essence of swearing or making oaths is to try to use something that, though impressive, is irrelevant to the issues at hand to together to believe you and let you have your way. This is wrong. It is unlike God. Dallas Willard
“Just say a simple Yes I will, or No I won’t. You’re word is enough. To strength our promise with a vow shows that something is wrong” – Jesus
Thus disciples of Jesus should not swear, because there is no such thing as speech not spoken before God. All of their words should be nothing but truth, so that nothing requires verification by oath. An oath consigns all other statements to the darkness of doubt. That is why it is from the evil one. Bonhoeffer
Speak with truth
Confess your sin, to be able to speak with truth
Complete truthfulness is only possible where sin has be uncovered and forgiven by Jesus. Only those who are in a state of truthfulness through the confession for their sin to Jesus are not ashamed to tell the truth wherever it must be told”.
Everything I say needs to be true But I don’t have to say everything that is true
“Christians are thereby, committed to plain speech. We seek to say no more or no less than what needs to be said. Speech so disciplined is not easily attained. Too often we want to use the gift of speech as a weapon, often a very subtle weapon, to establish our superiority” Hauerwas
“There is not truth toward Jesus without truth towards other people. Lying destroys community. But truth rends false community and founds genuine fellowship” Bonhoeffer

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

How do you use your words? Would you say you use them to build up or tear down? How thoughtfully or intentionally do you use your words? How can you this week start to become a person of deeper integrity? Who can help to support you and keep you accountable in being truthful and honest.

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Talk to your kids about being a person of truth. Tell them why it matters in your own words. Maybe take a moment and promise to them that you will always speak to them with truth, and ask if they would do the same with you.

Challenge for this Week: Speak with truth

Sermon Preview

What If We Just Did What Jesus Said?

On Sunday we are really exploring a radical question. What if we just followed Jesus in what he said?

We are beginning to explore his teaching on the Sermon of the Mount and will be seeking to actually practice it. Because here is what I believe: the teachings of Jesus aren’t primarily to be debated, to be forgotten, reworked, or skipped over. They are to be practiced.

Our guiding quote for this whole series is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Commenting on the sermon of the mount, with his usual succinctness and challenge he says:

“The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it”

And I think he is right. What if we just did what Jesus said? Dream with me a moment how might your life be different? How might your family’s life be different? How might your community be different? How might this world be different if we all got serious about following what Jesus said?

That’s why I’m excited for Sunday because I think it will start something in our lives so meaningful.

So before we get there why not take a moment and simply sit and read over Matthew 5 a few times. See what stands out, see what Jesus asks you to do, and then don’t forget to put it into practice.

Sermon Reflections

Advent: A Time of Waiting and Finding

On Sunday we looked at the art of waiting. In Advent there is a sense and need to wait. We look forward to Christ’s coming, to his entering the world, and to our salvation.

And for many of us we are waiting for some significant things to happen in our lives. So how do we patiently wait in this season, how do we not give up, and even find what we are waiting for?

This is what we looked at on Sunday, preaching from an odd place ~ the page between the Old and New Testaments. This page represents a people of waiting. It represents the Israelite people expecting and desiring God to fulfill his promises. It represents a people waiting and longing for the Messiah.

The truth is though that the longer we wait, the less hopeful we get. But even while we wait we can still have hope, because the page always turns, the story doesn’t end.

We turned the page from the Old to the New Testament and read the first verse in Matthew 1:1 that says, “This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus, the Messiah, a descendant of King David and of Abraham”. Jesus arrives, the promises are fulfilled, the Messiah comes, and the waiting isn’t wasted. And we need to remember this in Advent with the promise of God’s arrival. That the waiting is never wasted, and Jesus does come, he does arrive.

Pope John Paul writes, “Advent is then a period of intense training that directs us decisively to the One who has already come, who will come and who continuously comes.” Jesus does come, he is always on his way, and he does arrive. So we have hope even in the waiting, and we must never ever give up, because Jesus is the one who comes to us.

Advent is about waiting, but it is also about finding. And when you wait for God it is never wasted. So we ended with this main point that Christ is coming, don’t give up waiting. If you are waiting from a dream, a healed friendship, marriage, a job, whatever it may be: don’t give up, Christ is coming.

We ended with three simple ways to put this waiting into practice. First, that we need to acknowledge and name what it is we are waiting for. Second we need to share with God the depths of what we hope for, long for, and strive for. We need to be honest with ourselves, and with God for what we hope for. And then thirdly we need to watch for his arrival.

Some missed Jesus’ arrival because they stopped watching, but Advent reminds us that Jesus does arrive. So watch for the arrival of Jesus in your life because with him comes health, life, and hope.

So the challenge for this week was simple: watch for Jesus’ arrival. And we prayed together this prayer from Revelation 22:20. Our Lord says, ‘Surely, I come quickly.’ Even so; come, Lord Jesus. May that be true in your life as well.

This is truly a different waiting from our familiar ‘waiting’. We wait for something different, quite different – we wait for God. Waiting for God cannot be like that kind of waiting which says or thinks: ‘It would be wonderful if he came; but if he does not come , then we must go one living without him.” We cannot wait for God so ready to resign ourselves to his not coming, so indifferent, so foolish, as we might wait for an increase in salary. No, that would be foolish, meaningless waiting if we really mean God. But if we will not be satisfied with what is offered us today as godlike words, we will go on waiting, with longing, seeking ,and hoping until at last, it is God himself who comes to help and to comfort…Then our waiting and hoping is not like a piece of wishful thinking, or a fantasy, but life itself. Then we live only because we wait for God. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Christ is coming, don’t give up waiting.

Take Aways…

Three responses in advent: Waiting, Willingness, and Worship
Waiting is a part of life as a Christian
God’s timing is not on-demand
“Celebrating advent means learning how to wait waiting is an art which our impatient age has forgotten. We want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen” Bonhoeffer
The longer we wait, the less hopeful we get.
You turn the page from a place of waiting to a place of finding
Advent is then a period of intense training that directs us decisively to the One who has already come, who will come and who continuously comes. Pope John Paul
Jesus is the one who comes to us.
Advent is about waiting but it is also about finding.
When you wait for God it is never wasted.
Christ is coming, don’t give up waiting.
We truly acknowledge what we need and what we are hoping for
Share with God what you are waiting for
Watch for Jesus arrival
Our Lord says, ‘Surely, I come quickly.’ Even so; come, Lord Jesus. Rev 22:20

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new? What made you laugh? If you were given the marshmallow test as a child – how would you have done? What are you currently waiting for? What makes it difficult? What helps to make the waiting “easier”? How are you watching for the arrival of Jesus in your life? How might you try to watch for him this week? Who can help to journey with you as you wait and watch?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Try the marshmallow experiment with your kids. See how long they would last. Tell them if you would have found it really tough to do. Take sometime to talk to them about the importance of waiting, and patience. Remind them too that in the big things of life Jesus promises to show up.

Challenge for this Week: Watch for Jesus’ arrival

Sermon Preview

Waiting is a Forgotten Art

For today’s post I want to begin with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“Celebrating advent means learning how to wait. Waiting is an art which our impatient age has forgotten. We want to pluck the fruit before it has had time to ripen”

This is what we are looking at on Sunday, the art of waiting.

Advent is about waiting. Waiting for Jesus to come, for salvation to enter the world, for God’s promises and covenant to come true. But I really believe in our day and age we don’t know how to wait. Yes we know how to be impatient but not to truly wait. To wait with expectancy, to wait even with urgency, to wait, not as if Jesus’ coming doesn’t affect us, but as if our lives depend on it.

So that is what we are looking at on Sunday – the art of waiting and also the art of finding. On Sunday we are going to be preaching from a page in your Bibles I’m almost absolutely sure you haven’t heard from before.

But before we get there start to think about waiting. What are you really waiting for this Christmas? And we’re not talking about gifts or the new Xbox. What are you really waiting for, and really desiring? Is it a healed marriage, friendship, or even a health concern? Is it a purpose, a dream, or job to come about?

What is it you are truly waiting for, and come Sunday we will talk about how to wait. And most of all…how to find as well.

Theological Musings

Lent, Suffering, and Bonhoeffer

“Only the suffering God can help.” Dietrich Bonheoffer.

This is brilliant, true and full of hope for us during Lent. During Lent the disturbing reality is that we focus on a God, who in the person of Jesus Christ, was beaten, broken, and buried. This is the God we follow, one who died. Is it any wonder Paul said preaching the cross was foolishness…The world follows power, display, and strength; our God demonstrates sacrifice, weakness, and a willingness to enter even into death.

This though is why only the suffering God can help. We do not follow a God who is above suffering, empathy, and distantly removed because of his power. Instead, we follow a God who knows what it is to be beaten. We follow a God who knows what it is to be broken. We follow a God who knows what it is to be buried.

So if you have ever felt beaten down by life…have hope. If you feel broken in body or soul…have hope. If you have lost someone, or feel like you yourself are being buried under darkness…have hope. Because our God felt all those things, but broke through them to show us the way. Our God didn’t stay in heaven removed from the muck and mire of humanity and our struggle. Our God chose to enter into our struggle, to empty himself of all power and privilege to join us. This is why only the suffering God can help, because only the suffering God can understand what we go through. So you are not alone. God knows what it is to feel betrayal. He knows what it is to look forward and see darkness. He knows what it is to die. But the message of Easter is he also knows about resurrection. He is the resurrection and the life. It is through him that all of the world is changed, in a blinding moment of new creation, new life, and a new future. He enters into suffering to lead us out…so may we reflect and remember that this Lenten season. Let us not rush past the suffering to the resurrection of Easter. Let us remember that only the suffering God can help…

Sermon Reflections

The Seriousness of Sin and Confession

On Sunday we talked about the seriousness of sin. Not a fun topic, but a revealing one. What I realized is that Jesus takes sin far more seriously than I do. I’m much more likely to ignore it, to cover it up, to forget it, or to compromise with it. Jesus calls it sin and deals with it.

At first I struggled with why. Why is there just not “grace” to all problems? Why do we have to name the sin, confess the sin, and repent from the sin? Why does it have to be so…personal.

Well, the answer should be clear. Because sin is personal, and it’s personal to Jesus. Sin brought him to death on the cross because that is where all sin leads to death. That is why Jesus is so insistent on dealing with it, because he doesn’t want us to go through the death he went through. He doesn’t want us to feel the force of death, sin, and darkness. So he comes to us and challenges us to name our sin, repent, and live in life. The goal of Jesus isn’t to be harsh, the goal is to bring healing.

sin

So on Sunday we ended with challenging ourselves to ask Jesus if there are any areas of sin, compromise, or darkness that we need to confess. I then challenged all of us to confess any areas of sin to a friend. Why make that step? Why not just confess it to God and be done? Well because sometimes our uneasiness of desiring to go to a friend in community reveals something about us. Dietrich Bonheoffer writes this, “Should we not find it easier to go to a brother than to the holy God? But if we do, we must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the reason perhaps for our countless relapses and the feebleness of our Christian obedience to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not a real forgiveness”. If we want to avoid death we cannot live on self-forgiveness. If we want to live in life we need to do this together with community, and we can’t shy away from naming our sin.

Is it easy? No, naming our failures, regrets, guilt, and shame is rarely easy. The question though isn’t whether it is easy. The question is whether or not it is freeing…and the answer to that is absolutely…

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Sin is serious business

Take Aways…

“Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit”
I take sin far less seriously than Jesus.
Jesus takes sin seriously because Jesus died because of it.
Jesus doesn’t call it compromise, he calls it sin
The path to growing with him, involves dying to sin.
Whenever you are walking away from Jesus and his truth you are walking into the darkness.
Doing leads to becoming.

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What surprised you? What made you think? What did you take away? What did you feel when you first read the passage? Were you surprised, shocked, or okay with it? When have you been tempted to compromise? What happened? Are there areas in your life now that you need to confess and change? How might you do that? Who are going to confess them too?

Discussion Questions for Young: Families Take a moment and ask them to tell you what they think sin is. Get any of their answers. Then tell them that a good way to think about sin is any action, thought, or desire that doesn’t look like Jesus. Share with them how when we don’t act like Jesus we miss the point, but that if we confess our sins Jesus will forgive us. Ask if there is anything to confess and make sure you confess your sins too. Share together and then walk forward together.

Challenge for this Week:

Confess and Repent of Any Sin to a Trusted Friend