Month: October 2017

Luke 13:18-19

A mustard seed is one of the tiniest of seeds. It is only slightly larger than a grain of sand.
But a mustard seed contains something a grain of sand does not: Life. It grows into a beautiful mustard plant. Mustard plants can grow to be over eight feet tall.

Jesus challenges us to understand that like that living seed, His Kingdom is alive and although often starts small, it grows very large as well.

In 1924, Kitty Suffield wrote a song titled Little Is Much When God Is In It. Kitty was the pianist at a small church in Ottawa, Canada. The pastor had a teenage son who had a great singing voice but he was shy and lacking in confidence; besides what good would come from one boy singing a song. But Kitty encouraged him to offer his gift to the Lord. That boy’s name was George Beverly Shea, who grew up to sing to millions at the Billy Graham Crusades. Little is much when God is in it.

In the scriptures little becomes much when God is in it.

God tells Gideon he has too many warriors to do battle against the Midianite army
after winnowing them down from 32,000 to 300, God gives the victory. Little is much when God is in it.

I Kings 17 tell the story of a widow who because of a severe drought is down to her last bit of flour and oil. Elijah asks her to use the little she has left to prepare him a meal. And when she does, God provides her sustenance until the drought ends. Little is much when God is in it.

A little boy offers Jesus five loaves and two fish which in the hands of Jesus end up feeding over 5,000. Little is much when God is in it. (more…)

Luke 9:18-27, 57-62; 10:25-28

Have you ever heard the story of the hen and the hog? They were walking down the street and came to a church with a sign outside: “HELP THE NEEDY.” They started to talk about it.

Hen: “I know how we could help. We could give them ham and eggs for breakfast.”

The hog was horrified and said, “That’s fine for you only giving a partial contribution, but for me, it’s total commitment.”

What’s the takeaway from that fable? Perhaps to consider whether we are offering ham or eggs to Christ.

In 1675, a German pastor named Philipp Spener wrote a work called Pious Desires. With uncommon vigor, Spener insisted that too many ‘so-called Christians’ had only the outward form of religion without the power. His call to holiness and intentional Christian growth was so inspiring it launched a movement called Pietism, which heavily influenced John Wesley and many others and eventually led to the First Great Awakening. Tell me if you think what he wrote in 1675 still applies today:

…there are not a few who think that all that Christianity requires of them (and that having done this, they have done quite enough in their service of God) is that they be baptized, hear the preaching of God’s Word, confess and receive absolution, and observe the Lord’s Supper, no matter how their hearts are disposed at the time, or whether or not there are fruits which follow. ¹

Sounds like what Wilbur Rees wrote 300 years later in his book, $3.00 Worth of God:

I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.” ²

Luke 9:51 invites you and me to consider whether we desire $3.00 worth of God, or if we desire more. (more…)

Romans 8:15-16

Last Sunday we gleaned three truths from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians about the process of being adopted into God’s family.

1. Our adoption was planned from the very beginning:
   Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:4-5)
   Creation, fall, redemption, adoption
2. We were adopted despite the fact that from a human viewpoint we were unadoptable:
   Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
   We are all in a basket of deplorable’s.
3. A very high price was paid so that we could be adopted:
   He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. (Ephesians 1:7)

Today I am turning to Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:15-16) where he also uses the word ‘adoption’ to flesh out three blessings of adoption

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

First point; our adoption is irrevocable.

I point this out because there are always Christians who are troubled by the thought that they have sinned away God’s grace. That is, we feel as if we have crossed the line with God one too many times. And that perhaps, as a result, He is through with us.

And so I say loud and clear, that once we are adopted into God’s family, we are part of the family forever; permanently. (more…)

Ephesians 1:1-8

A first grader brought in a family picture for show and tell. One of the more astute first graders noticed that one of the little boys in the picture had different color hair than the other family members. Another child suggested that he was probably adopted. A little girl said, “I know all about adoptions because I was adopted.”
“What does it mean to be adopted?” asked the teacher.

“It means,” said the little girl, “that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.”

The Apostle Paul used many different kinds of images and metaphors to express the blessings of knowing Christ. He searched both the Old Testament and 1st century culture to find words that would create a new theological grammar for the fledgling church. Some of the words he chose to describe what we refer to as ‘salvation’ are “atonement,” “justification,” “reconciliation,” “redemption.”

And as you have already guessed from today’s scripture reading and message title, one of them was “adoption.” The Greek word literally means, “to make [someone] a son”.  Paul used the word “adoption” five times in his letters: once in Galatians, (4:5); three times in Romans (8:14, 23; 9:4) and in today’s text in Ephesians (1:5).  In each case it refers to God’s adoption of us as His children.

Today, I want to cover 3 things Paul lets us know about the adoption process in his letter to the Ephesians. And next week, we’ll discuss the blessings of being adopted into God’s family.

First I note this process of adoption was planned long ago.

Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes” (Ephesians 1:4).

(more…)