The Verse

Ask most Christians about the best-known verse in the Bible and they will respond with the verse on which this sermon is based.  Anyone who's attended church very long will have heard at least one sermon or one Sunday school lesson on this verse.  None of these--including this sermon--exhaust its meaning.

The Verse

John 3:16-21

For most of my adult life, whenever I’ve stayed in a hotel or motel, I look for the Gideon Bible.  It used to be you could always find one:  evidence that some dedicated Gideon had done a behind-the-scenes ministry that has touched thousands of lives.  Today, some chains won’t allow the Bibles to be placed in their rooms.  They’re afraid of offending their customers.  These same chains usually make the “adults only” channels available, since they don’t offend anyone.

It’s funny that anyone would be offended by a book that no one forces you to take out of a drawer.  The Bibles don’t cost the hotel owners anything;  the Gideon pays for them.  The guests don’t have to pay to read them.  Take a candy bar out to the room fridge and it’ll cost you $3.00 but you can read the Bible all night long and it will cost you nothing.  The Bibles contain no denominationally-biased notes—just the Bible.  Usually, but not always, it’s the King’s James Version.  Alternative versions include the New KJV and the Berkeley Version.   

There is one feature that is distinctive to these Gideon Bibles.  Most editions  have several pages dedicated to presenting a single Bible verse in several languages.  The Bible I have translates this verse into Afrikaans, Chinese, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Tamil, and twenty more languages.  What verse, out of all the verses in the Bible, merits this attention?  It is the first verse of this passage, John 3:16.

With what is probably the first verse most Sunday school children learn, John begins his reflection on Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus. 

John’s thinking was triggered by Jesus’ final word to Nicodemus:  "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up…”  Jesus is referring to his coming crucifixion.

John had witnessed Jesus being lifted up.  He had stood at the foot of the cross and watched Jesus die.  At that time he probably asked himself, Why is this happening?

John gives a partial answer in this passage.

 God, through an act of sacrificial love, provides the opportunity for new life.

To understand this, let’s look at some of the key issues John raises in this passage.  He invites us to think about…

The World God Loves

The word John uses here is not “ge” (ghay) the word which is the root of words like geology or geography, the word referring to the physical world around us.  John uses cosmos.  Cosmos refers to the totality of humankind.  By “world” John means that every man, woman, and child.  Obviously those living in the first century didn’t know as much about the world as we know.  Still, they knew it was a vast place, populated by various tribes and peoples.  They knew something of the physical and cultural differences that exist on this planet.  No matter how much disdain some felt for the so-called “barbarians” John was including them in this picture of the world.

But we have to take this further.  John also uses cosmos refers to "society as alienated from God and under the sway of Satan." (1 John 5:19)  This world is in intentional, active rebellion against him.  It is a world shrouded in spiritual darkness.  Just how powerful that darkness is can be seen in multiplied examples of “man’s inhumanity to man.” 

Specifically we see that darkness in the Tucson shootings, in a father murdering his infant child in Columbus, in the ongoing war in the Middle East, in so many ways I could name… 

But, for John, the clearest illustration of that darkness was found in an event that took place one Spring on a hill outside Jerusalem—the crucifixion. 

With that in mind, we need to consider…

The God Who Loves

What is God's attitude toward a world in rebellion against him?  God loves this world. To anyone who grew up singing, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world,” this hardly seems to be news.  It would have been in the first century.  Apparently no Jewish writer advanced the notion that God loved the whole world.  The idea that God’s love is broad enough to include all of humankind appears to have been a distinctly Christian idea.

This love for the world is not simple affection.  It is love which engages in sacrificial action.  In fact, the measure of God's love (agapao) is seen in his sacrifice;  He gave his only Son.  The ISV renders:  "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life." 

The world God loves is in rebellion against him, yet God did not send his Son into that world to "judge it;"  he sent his Son into the world to save it.

Verse seventeen further explains God's motivation for sending his Son.  It challenges the conception of Christianity held by many of its critics. 

Rather than seeking to populate Hell with as many people as possible, God devised and implemented the only escape plan.  Because God's character demands it, He must judge;  but he would prefer to show mercy.  Ronald Youngblood says, "Judgment is never God's last or best word to those who believe in him, because 'mercy triumphs over judgment'' (James 2:13). God's love was not limited by culture, race, or geographical boundaries.  His desire to save was extended to the entire world.  He did not simply love the lovely people of the world; he loved all the people of the world.  That love prompted an act of radical sacrifice.

Did you see The Passion of the Christ when it came out a few years ago?  If not, you couldn’t have missed the controversy it has stirred.  Many were angered by the film and critical of its producer/director Mel Gibson.  One critic reviewed the film and complained, “Where is Christ’s message of love?”  John would wonder how that critic could have possibly missed it.

Sadly, Gibson’s behavior since the film appeared has trashed his credibility but the message of the crucifixion stands.

The Bible tells us that the love of God for the world is displayed in many ways.  It may be seen in the rain and the sunshine.  The love of God is seen in the crops which allow us to feed our children.  God’s love is seen in the gift of our children—and our grandchildren.  But, for John, the clearest illustration of that love could be found in an event that took place one Spring on a hill outside Jerusalem—the crucifixion.  Yes, the same event that illustrated the world’s darkness also illustrated God’s love.

The Possibility God Offers

John wrote his Gospel to encourage people to believe in Jesus.  That was his aim.  After making his wonderful declaration about God’s love, John turns to the issues of belief and unbelief.

Because of God's sacrificial actions on its behalf, humankind has an option:  the choice between destruction and eternal life.

Men and Women may chose to continue on the path of unbelief by their refusal to commit to Jesus.  This condition involves the utter loss of well being (Vine).  This situation, which is merited, ultimately results in complete alienation from God. 

We may wonder why anyone could possibly chose that path.  John explains why: 

    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  [19] And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  [20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 3:19-20 (ESV)

While this is probably not John's intention, the statement is a kind of defense of God.  God cannot be blamed for humankind's estrangement.  He has sent the Light into the world, yet many preferred the darkness, reflecting their commitment to their sinful behavior. 

During the nineteenth century Robert Ingersol was America's best known atheist.  Ingersol traveled the country lecturing on why it was foolish to believe in God and to embrace the trappings of religion.  Ingersol was once lecturing to a large crowd in the East.  

He had just announced there was no God and, consequently, no final judgment.  At that point, a very drunk audience member got up and shouted,  "I sure hope you're right, Brother Bob, I'm countin' on it."

There are those who do not believe because they have not heard.  There are those who do not believe because they do not understand or have been misinformed.  That some might refuse to believe because they prefer the darkness seems incrediblebut human history substantiates the claim.

John tells us that those committed to sin hate the light.  They avoid the light at all costs because they do not want their deeds to be exposed for what they are.

The tense suggests this is not a reference to that person who stumbles into sinful behavior, rather this is a person who "is in the habit of doing wrong" (Williams).  Such a person avoids the light.

John finds their decision shocking.  Look again at verse 18. They have refused to believe the very Son of God.  John looked at Jesus and saw God’s grace and truth.  It must have deeply hurt John to think that there were those who refused to honor Jesus.  Yet, John knew there were those who did. 

He also knew that those who walked the path of unbelief walked a path toward judgment.  In fact, as long as they refused to believe they lived as if they had already heard the sentence read.  Merrill Tenney pictures the state of these individuals in a way which helps us see their plight.  John’s use of the term “perish” to describe their condition “…those without God are hopelessly confused in purpose, alienated from him in their affections, and futile in their efforts.  Positive belief in Christ is necessary;  all that one has to do to perish is nothing.  It is loss of all that makes life worthwhile.”

This knowledge prompted John to write his Gospel to call men and women to faith.  It ought to prompt us to take seriously the evangelism mandate.  God’s love, the love which gave his Son to die for our salvation, should lead us to join John and all who have followed his example by intentionally calling others to believe on Jesus. 

But John lets us know there is another option.

Men and Women may take the path of Belief--the acceptance of Jesus for who he is and a consequent commitment to him.  Taking this option leads to eternal life.  As John uses the term “eternal life” he is describing  a new quality of life both now and in the age to come.  It is not simply the promise of living forever, it is the promise of living with a spiritual richness which we cannot fully imagine.  The character of this life is as significant as its duration.  And John wants us to know that believers already possess this “eternal life”.  They don’t yet experience all of its wonder but they have experienced enough to have their appetites whetted for more.

It’s important to understand that the avenue to this eternal life is belief.  The word translated as believe (pisteuooneis) suggests "the complex thought of unqualified acceptance of, and exclusive dependence on," (Elwell)  It goes beyond mentally agreeing with a claim, it involves reliance upon the truth of the claim.

In terms of the Christian gospel, it means accepting Jesus for who he is—God’s Son—and relying upon him—and him alone—for our hope of eternal life.  Jesus had told Nicodemus that he must be born again—renewed through a power which comes from God in heaven.  John is reminding us that Jesus is the one who gives that life to those who believe in him.

Those who take this option of faith escape the darkness;  those who take this option do not waste their lives, they live their lives to the fullest;  those who take this option walk the path toward a future of joy and hope.

They have this joy and hope because they have a new understanding of God.  He is not a God who eagerly seeks opportunities to condemn us;  He is a God who longs to save us.   He is the God who gave his Son to make possible our salvation.  He is the God who invites us to experience that salvation by simply believing on his Son.

Conclusion

The Gideons never tried to offend anyone by placing Bibles in those hotel rooms.  They just wanted people to know about the love of God.  We want you to know about that love and once you know about it to trust God for the life he offers. 

Choosing to Believe--or Not

On Sunday, January 16, many churches celebrated Religious Liberty Sunday.  I preached the following sermon to remind the congregation of how Baptists contributed to this freedom and to point out the opportunities God has given us  through our liberty.

Choosing to Believe—or Not

Matthew 22:16-22

During our visit to London a couple summers ago, we toured the infamous Tower of London.  William the Conqueror began building the tower soon after his conquest of the island in 1066;  other kings added to the complex until it became the formidable structure it is today.  You probably know the tower was used for centuries as a prison for very special prisoners.  It was often the last home those prisoners would know.  Eighteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey, a devout Protestant who was queen of England for nine days before the Privy Council changed its mind and made Mary the queen.  Jane who had lived in the tower during her short reign was now imprisoned there and eventually beheaded there.

Many of the Tower’s prisoners wrote messages on the walls of their cells. Some simply quoted Scripture, some wrote prayers, some messages of hope.  As I thought of the many religious prisoners held there and elsewhere, I had a curious thought.  I realized that if many of those who were going to die for their faith should suddenly find the situation reversed, they would imprison those who disagreed with them.

You see, no matter how appealing the idea may seem, when the church and the state are wed the marriage is disastrous.

When Jesus answered the question posed by his opponents, he set down a principle that would eventually play a crucial role in how Christians would come to relate to the political authorities.  Unfortunately, the church suffers recurring bouts of amnesia so it often forgot that principle.  Today, I want to celebrate that principle and remind you of some of its history and its benefits.

The New Testament writers never say anything that could be taken to endorse the coercion of belief.  Preachers might be as persuasive as possible but their final word to any congregation, crowd, or individual was “Choose.”  They never imagined or expected that the state might strong-arm people into the church or check “Christian” on the birth certificates of infants born within its borders.  Yet, both became a reality.

In time this filled the church with nominal Christians.  Oh, there were always sincere, devout believers but their enthusiasm was often seen as a threat to the status quo.  In the end, the leaders of the church—even after the Reformation—became content with letting the state be their partner in the task of evangelism.

But the church’s amnesia doesn’t last forever.  In time, when things are their messiest, someone will say, “Didn’t Jesus say something about this?”

You might not immediately recognize the name of Thomas Helwys.  He was a member of a family that was rising in prominence in late sixteenth-century London.  Thomas studied law at Grey’s Inn and lived in London for a short while until he moved back to Lincolnshire and married.  It was there that he and his wife became sympathetic to the Puritan cause and eventually become part of John Smyth’s little band of dissenters.  (John Robinson, who would eventually lead the Pilgrims to Plymouth, was also part of the group.) 

As persecution of dissent increased, Smyth and Helwys led a little group of dissenters to Amsterdam where they would be somewhat safer than they would have been in England.  While in Amsterdam, Smyth and Helwys became convinced that their baptism was invalid and that only believers should receive baptism.  After careful study and reflection they produced a confession and a new expression of Christian faith.  And so, Helwys is remembered, along with John Smyth, as one of the founders of the Baptist denomination. 

Eventually, Helwys led some of these English Baptists back to England so they could spread their new faith.  For a while, the little group met at Spitalfields in east London.  This was the first Baptist church on English soil.

Thomas wrote a little book called A Short Declaration of the Mistery of Iniquity.  He sent King James I a copy, urging him to take its message to heart.  Instead, the king had him arrested.  Thomas Helwys, cousin of Sir Gervase Helwys, a lieutenant at the Tower of London, died at Newgate Prison in 1616. 

What was so significant about this little book?  Though it maintained a respectful tone, it echoed Jesus’ words about things belonging to Caesar and things belonging to God.  Consider this quote:  "If the Kings people be obedient and true subjects, obeying all humane lawes made by the King, our Lord the King can require no more: for men’s religion to God is betwixt God and themselves; the King shall not answer for it, neither may the King be judge between God and man."

Helwys had written what was almost certainly the first call for complete religious freedom.  Some earlier writers had argued for freedom for all Protestants but Helwys argued that Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Jews—everyone, including atheists—should have freedom of conscience.  It would be well over a century and a half before any national government embraced such a vision for itself.

Only a few years after Helwys’s death, settlers would begin coming to America.  Some of them, like the Puritans and the Pilgrims, would be coming to find freedom to worship as they wished.  Of course, these same people had no intention of giving others that same freedom.  They would banish, whip, and even hang any who dared to differ too much from their beliefs.

In the 1630s, Roger Williams, at the time a minister in Plymouth, Massachusetts, would begin to call for freedom of religion and separation of church and state.  In 1536, the colony’s leaders decided to send him packing back to England.  Williams, learning of their intentions, fled, living for a while with the Wampanoags.  Eventually he founded a new community in what would become Rhode Island.  This new community became a refuge for religious dissenters of all types.  Williams became a Baptist for a few months in 1538 but it was long enough to found a church which is usually considered to be the first Baptist church in America.

By the time the new United States was founded, the notion of religious freedom was more acceptable.

·         Some, like the Baptists, argued for religious freedom on Biblical grounds. 

·         Some, like Thomas Jefferson, influenced perhaps by the Enlightenment, embraced the notion on more philosophical grounds.

·         Some, pragmatists at heart, realized that religious freedom was the only way the diverse population could be united.

Of course, even after the constitution was ratified, religious life in the United States was not what we know today.  It was the 1830s before Massachusetts stopped collecting taxes from its citizens to support the Congregational church. 

Still, the United States had set out on “the lively experiment” that placed religious views of every type on a level playing field.  At the time, you couldn’t find anything else like it in the world.  Needless to say, there is nothing like it in the Muslim world.  You can stand on the corner of High and Broad and pass out copies of the Koran, knowing that the police will protect your right.  Try to pass out copies of the New Testament on a street corner in Tehran and the police will haul you off to jail.  In fact, nothing in the Islamic worldview suggests Muslim nations will ever know the religious freedom we know.

Even in the UK, the monarch remains the head of the Church of England, though that’s largely a symbolic title.  The Prime Minister and Parliament actually appoint the bishops.  Some believe this hurts the Anglican Church because people see it as a tool of the government, a government they sometimes feel doesn’t care for them. 

Here in the US, the churches that survived were churches that tried to meet the real spiritual needs of people. 

Here in the US, church membership is a choice.  Though the system isn’t perfect, it assures that the percentage of nominal members is less than it would be in a state church.

Here in the US, you are free to support the church-related programs you wish to support.  Your taxes don’t go to support a church that doesn’t minister to you, a pastor who is indifferent to or skeptical of doctrines you hold dear, or that blindly endorses all the government says so it won’t risk its privileged status.

Today, the United States has a higher percentage of its population participating in church life than any other Western nation.   In America, there are more ordained clergy per capita than in any other nation.  (I think the same thing can be said about lawyers so you might take that with more than a little salt.)  At the same time, in America you don’t have to be ordained to lead a band of believers;  you can meet with them in homes, at coffee houses, anywhere.  The last I heard some 13% of believers attended “church” in a non-traditional setting such as a house or apartment and the number was growing.  In many nations, if you are a Christian, you may dream of the day when a brave soul will smuggle a Bible to you.  In the US, you can buy a Bible at Giant Eagle.  (Of course, shrewd marketers have also made it possible for you to buy Bibles geared to almost any group you might name:  men’s Bibles, women’s Bibles, recovery Bibles, patriot’s Bibles, and the list goes on.) 

Here in the US, your church’s growth isn’t tied to the ups and downs of the birth rate. 

In fact, here in the US, your church’s growth is to some degree linked to your commitment to and enthusiasm for your church’s ministry and message.  Historically, it has been the “enthusiasts” who have seen their churches grow.  Upstart churches like the Methodists, the Christian churches, and the Baptists spread like spilled tea across the frontier, leaving the older churches behind. 

In the early nineteenth century, Congregational churches in New York City asked for funds to sent missionaries to the western part of the state where they said there were no churches.  In truth, the area was dotted with Baptist and Methodist churches.  But the sophisticated Congregational leadership refused to recognize these congregations as real churches.  After all, oftentimes their leaders had no formal training.  The only thing they had going was converts by the droves.

A century before this, the Methodists hadn’t existed and the Baptists would have faced legal challenges to their efforts.

Religious freedom makes this possible.

I’ve never believed that there is any special reason why God should bless America.  I’ve certainly never believed that America is the only nation God has ever blessed.  But I do believe that God blessed America by leading a group of visionaries that included Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists,  a couple Catholics, a couple Methodists, at least one  Deist and one Huguenot,  but not a Baptist in sight to endorse a Constitution that embraced a revolutionary idea that was born in the hearts of the harried English Baptists.

You and I can choose to believe the gospel or not.  We aren’t allowed to choose the consequences of unbelief but nothing allows the church to force us to believe.

You and I who have chosen to believe have been the beneficiaries of a great blessing.  We are right to meet for Bible study to talk about it, to gather to sing about it, to bow our heads to thank God for it, and to sit through sermons learning more about it.

But surely that freedom brings responsibilities and opportunities.

We have the responsibility to guard it—not only for ourselves but for others. 

Just as important, we have the opportunity to invite others to choose.  We must issue that invitation with grace, wisdom, and love.  But offer it we should because in so doing we bring honor to the one who is a Liberator in so many ways.

Things to Keep in Mind for a New Year

In my early days as a pastor I may have tried to tell people what kinds of resolutions they should make and I may have even chided them for failing to keep those resolutions.  I hope that didn't go on too long.  Anyway, I hope this message is more compassionate and helpful.

Things to Keep in Mind for a New Year

Hebrews 12:1

Years ago I heard a woman say that she didn’t understand all the fuss over New Year’s Day.  After all, she said, “It’s just another day.”  I disagreed with her then and disagree now.  We Christians, unlike many around the world, don’t believe history is an endless cycle of events, repeating  over and over again.  Instead, we believe history is going somewhere, that it has a goal, that God is directing history according to his purposes.  For that reason, I could never agree with the woman who made that comment about the beginning of a new year.

Yet, I think I can understand the point she was making.  For her, the coming year was going to be the same as the past year.  With her in mind, I want to mention the first thing I’d like you to keep in mind as we enter a new year.  Simply put:  in many ways, the “new” in the New Year is up to you.

Bad habits, hurtful patterns of thinking, destructive ways of relating to others don’t simply drop away when we tear the final page off a calendar.  They are still part of us as we enter the New Year.  If we want the New Year to be “new” we have to somehow become new.

Of course, this is the whole idea behind New Year’s resolutions.  We want to change things, to be different.  Among Americans popular resolutions range from concerns about health (quit smoking) to improving our relationships (spend more time with family).  Some people’s resolutions can leave us scratching our heads.  One of those celebrities who is famous for being a celebrity, Kim Kardashian , recently said that during the coming year she hoped to make a little more “me time.”  When I read that, an image popped into my head of Mother Theresa saying, “During the coming year, I hope to devote a little more time to others.”

Most of us have something about ourselves we’d like to change.  In some area of our lives we’d like to be “new.”  But the truth is—and the jokes seem to prove it—New Year’s resolutions are easy to make but hard to keep.  We’re like the man who said, “I resolve to quit gambling” and then asked, “Anyone want to bet me I can’t do it?”

In truth, the surveys show the failure rate is pretty high.  Well over 75% those who make resolutions ultimately give up trying to keep them.

 Now, some of you may be wondering if this is really the subject for a sermon.  I believe it is because it there is something keeping us from being our best, it will impact how we serve the Lord.  The writer of Hebrews reminded his readers of the heroes of the faith that had come before them and then threw out this challenge:  “Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. “

Notice something.  While he includes sin among those things that keep us from running our best race, our progress can be hindered by other things as well.   For example, poor eating habits, poor sleep habits, or other such behaviors might keep you from having the energy to serve the Lord in some practical way. 

These morally-neutral habits, these patterns of thinking, these behaviors are often the subject of our resolutions.  And they often provide the battleground of our defeat.

With this in mind, let me offer some observations on the quest to become “new.”

First, I think we need to try to increase our expectation of success while acknowledging the likelihood of failure.

Recent research has shown that 52% of those who make resolutions sincerely believe they will be able to keep them.  That’s more than half.  But think about this.  Almost half of those who make resolutions expect to fail.  In this case, reality is on the side of the pessimists.  Only 12% are successful in keeping their resolutions.

In other words, we should probably expect failure.  Now, that may seem a downer but it’s really encouraging in a way.  To begin with, it means that when you fail, you shouldn’t be surprised.  At the same time, your failure doesn’t mean you’re some kind of misfit;  it means you’re normal.

It’s hard to change, to become something new.  Studies have shown that it may take dozens of attempts to make a change a permanent part of your regular behavior.  Some of those studies suggest the average number of attempts is about 66.  Some succeed before others, some take a while longer.  But if you’re convinced a change will be good, shouldn’t you  give it more than one or two attempts?  Certainly.

So, when you set out to make a change, be prepared to give it a while.  At the same time, keep these facts in mind. 

1.        Successful change often comes one step at a time.  Those involved in 12-step programs know that they have to maintain their victory over substances like alcohol one day at a time.  Men who set up measurable goals were more 22% more often than those who didn’t.  So, if your want to lose weight, set a goal such as a pound per week rather than making a non-specific resolution like “lose weight.”  Maybe you’ve resolved in the past to “read the Bible” only to fail.  Instead, maybe you should resolve to read a chapter or two a day.   There are lots of schemes to allow you to read the Bible through in one year.  Maybe one will help you.  On the other hand, there’s nothing magical about reading the Bible through in a year.  You’ll be blessed even if it takes two or three years to get through the Bible.  Just consider if you need to make your resolutions more manageable.

2.       Successful change often comes to people who have support.  The same studies showed that women were more successful when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

This brings us to another point I want to make.  Keep in mind that your church is here to encourage you to be all you can be for Christ, for your family, and for yourself.

The church should be a Community of Encouragers

As the writer of Hebrews imagines his readers in their churches he says to them, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”    Now those words depict the church as a community of encouragement.

It’s an image confirmed elsewhere in the New Testament. 

The missionary Barnabus was known as an encourager.

Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul says…”Therefore encourage each other with these words.”  (1TH 4:18)  And, again, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  (1TH 5:11)  And, yet again, “And we urge you, brothers…encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”  (1TH 5:14)

Paul instructs the young pastor Timothy to make encouragement part of his ministry.

The writer of Hebrews calls his readers to be encouragers.  He says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”  (HEB 3:13)

A Christian isn’t redeemed to be alone.  God places us in a caring community in filled with those who want us to succeed in our pilgrimage.  So when you make your resolution to change, to become someone new, pair it with a resolution to seek support and encouragement from a fellow believer when you’re struggling to make your resolution a reality.

As you keep in mind that the “new” in the New Year is up to you, you should also keep in mind that the challenge to do the “new” thing involves our thoughts as much as our actions.  My earliest memories of my grandfather involve him “rolling his own,” making his own cigarettes.  He had empty Prince Albert cans all around his little house in Arkansas.  Then his doctors found polyps on his vocal cords.  They told him he had to quit smoking.  At the age of seventy, he laid his tobacco down and never picked it up again.  He died just before his 101^st birthday.   He made the mental decision to quit and he did.

How we think can be a proper object for change.  For many of us, it wouldn’t hurt to start this New Year with a resolution to be realistically positive in our thinking.  I’m hardly the role model in this but let me give you a little example.

This past year I’ve read two books with very different outlooks.  Each author marshaled statistics to defend his case.  One author declared that the church was spiraling downward, about to crash and burn.  The other writer argued that Christianity in the world at large and even in the United States was holding its own against secularism and, in some cases, it was making inroads into our culture. 

Which one should I believe?  I think I’m going to do myself a favor and side with the second writer.  For one thing, his perspective honors God more.  Then, too, I really believe what you’ve heard me say so many times:  It is always too soon to publish the church’s obituary.

Conclusion:  A few moments ago I told you that you should expect to fail.  That may not sound particularly positive.  But remember what God does with failures.  He makes successes out of them.  When Moses tried to help his fellow Jews, he failed and had to flee the country.  Then, God intervened and made a success of the failure.  When Peter tried to stand by Jesus on the night of his trial, he failed, failed so completely that he wept tears of shame.  Then, Jesus intervened and made a success of the failure.

When you strive to become something new this year, keep in mind a realistic view of yourself--including your potential to change.  Keep in mind the support your church can give you.  Keep in mind the transforming power of God.

The Day After Christmas

The title of this sermon speaks for itself. 

The Day After Christmas

Luke 2:16-20

Some of our  neighbors are already taking down their Christmas decorations.  Soon their trees no longer glow at night with twinkling lights.  It’s the day after Christmas.

Stores have special tables set up for disappointed customers to return gifts that didn’t work or weren’t quite what they wanted.  It’s the day after Christmas.

Children are whining and complaining, no longer behaving as if some old elf were recording their behavior.  It’s the day after Christmas.

Now that it’s the day after Christmas, what should we do, we who understand that Christmas is not about gifts or sumptuous feasts?

NOW THAT IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT’S OKAY TO LET GOD SLOW THE PACE.

In some ways, Mary is a model for this.  It had been a strange nine months, now there would be a couple relatively quiet years followed by an extended stay in Egypt.  Then there would be some even quieter years.

As hard as we might try to avoid the trap, it’s easy to get caught in the frenzy surrounding Christmas.  There’s one more gift to buy, one more trip to take to the market for that ingredient needed for the indispensible dish that no Christmas would be complete without.   Christmas can exhaust the best of us. 

Now, that it’s past we can welcome the slower pace, the opportunity to reflect on the blessings of the past year and consider the opportunities of the year to come.

We need balance in our lives, such moderation is important for us because…

NOW THAT IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, THERE MAY BE A BURST OF REALITY.

For some of us it may be a return to the routine, to simpler meals, to peace and quiet.  For others of us it may mean a return to a big lonely house.  We may have to be content with hugs and kisses sent by telephone or skyped via the internet rather than given in person.

For Mary and Joseph the passing of Christmas brought diapers, feedings, and the whispers of neighbors. 

It was important for them to stand by each other, to trust each other and to remember that…

EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT IS NO TIME TO STOP TRUSTING GOD.

Mary understood that it is important to reflect on what God has done in the past so you may look to the challenges of tomorrow.  That backward look is so important to faith—we may look backward into our experiences of God’s faithfulness or back into the Biblical record of God’s faithfulness to his people.

What God had told Mary was true even when they were fleeing for safety to Egypt.  He had told her that her Son would change the world.  V. Raymond Edman, longtime president and chancellor of Wheaton College, once reminded the students:  “Do not doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light.”

So…

EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT’S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT EVEN WHEN THERE ARE NO BRIGHT STARS OR ANGELIC CHOIRS IN THE SKY GOD IS STILL AT WORK.

The record of God’s dealings with his people includes stories of pathways through seas and tumbling walls, but, as often as not, God works quietly behind the scenes to accomplish his purpose.

For all the excitement of that first Christmas, only a few people knew the story and, after a few years, some of them probably forgot or maybe even wondered if they had dreamed it all.  Some may have simply lost their patience with God.  Of course, those who never heard the angels’ song or the shepherds’ testimony may have wondered if God was up to anything at all.   But he was, whether they knew it or not, he was.

Back in the 1930s, historians were already talking about the demise of the church.  But God was still at work.  Today, Christianity is the fastest growing faith in the global south and, despite the pressure of extremism; it is growing in the Middle East.  Some reports suggest there are more Christians in China today than there have ever been before even in the heyday of the missionary movement.  God’s been at work.

This is why it’s also important to keep in mind that

EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT IS NO TIME TO START TRYING TO IMPROVE ON GOD’S PLANS.

Mary may not have liked the direction things seemed to be going.  The words of Simeon must have been disturbing.  Joseph and Mary had taken the infant to the temple for the rite of circumcision;  while there an elderly bystander approached and offered a blessing for the child.  Then he said something else.

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,  so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Later on, during the public ministry of Jesus, Mary and the rest of the family tried to stop him—perhaps because she feared the consequences of his antagonizing the religious authorities. 

God didn’t have his Son born in a manger then say, “Okay, you folks take it from here.”  He still knows best how to accomplish his purposes. 

You see…

EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT IS NO TIME TO RETURN TO OLD WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT GOD.

Earlier in the story the angel Gabriel had to remind Mary that there is nothing impossible with God.  It might have been easy to forget that, to think that God was limited by the circumstances that limit us.  Then, too, Mary could have easily begun to imagine just how her son would accomplish his mission—the mission she had sung about.  Whatever she planned, it probably didn’t include a cross.

Mary had learned a lot in nine short months, but she still had to learn that

EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, IT IS STILL A LONG TIME BEFORE EASTER.

The road from the manger to the empty tomb would be a long one—for Jesus and for Mary.

For both of them it would be a time of growth.  For both of them it would be a time of testing for their commitment.  That Mary may have wavered shouldn’t surprise us.  Did you know that some studies suggest that nine out of ten men who begin preaching before the age of 21 will leave the ministry before 60?  Commitment is hard to sustain.

Despite her doubts and her questions both Mary and Jesus were at Calvary.  He to die for the world;  she, to offer what love and comfort she could.

Then came Easter morning.  Her wounded heart was mended.

The road between your first joyous encounter with Christ may be  hard but you can look forward to a final victory at Easter.

With that in mind, we have one final lesson to learn—one taught by the shepherds.  Those rugged, smelly men  remind us that…

EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, THERE ARE STILL OPPORTUNITIES TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS.

One of the most remarkable things you’ll see on Christmas Day is the staff of QVC, the big shopping channel, sharing Christmas stories and songs with us.  They read the stories of Christ’s birth and sang some of the great carols.  Of course, once Christmas is past, they go back to selling us jewelry, coats, and gadgets.

When you return to your “sheep,” I hope you will be sure to look for appropriate opportunities to talk about Jesus.  This is no time to be silent about him, even though it’s the day after Christmas.