First Sermon at the Seminary Chapel
With the complete awareness of narcissism, I post my first chapel sermon. It was given this morning and I would love to hear your reviews (i.e. praise, Oscars, etc.) No, really. Giving a sermon in front of my peers and professors was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. I'm glad I got the first one out of the way. - DOB
Last fall, I was in Birmingham eating at a restaurant with a friend of mine. A young lady was waiting on us and I was pretty relaxed and in a chatty mood. When she left after taking our order I noticed she had some sort of tattoo on the back of her neck. When she returned, I playfully asked what it said. She hesitated for a moment and I could tell she was a little embarrassed, but pretty forlorn, too. She said, “It says ‘God Save My Family.’” Then, she turned and walked off. Well, that completely ruined my evening. In the midst of all this frivolity and fun (like the Chili’s commercials) simmered a dire pain, hidden because of shame and fear. It is the same in this place here today. It is this compartmentalization, or separation in who we really are as compared to how we present ourselves that I wish to discuss this morning.
Paul begins this morning’s passage with quite an accusatory question in Galatians 4:21: “Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?” I met an M.D. once who had achieved brilliantly according to the world’s standards. He had breezed through high school, was magna cum laude in college, and graduated from one of the world’s best medical schools. He became a Christian and then inserted his view of achievement into Christianity and went many years like this. Just give me a goal and get out of the way while I achieve it. Well, he has moved on to other interests. “Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?” “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” A thought of anger is the same as murder. A lustful thought is the same as adultery. Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? Earlier in chapter 3, Paul says that every one who is under the law is under a curse. This is because the law accuses the inward and outward aspects of being human.
Now as the fallen creatures we are, we desperately want to justify ourselves. We desperately want to assert ourselves as our own entities. Two types of people emerge from this brand of Christianity. One type has a good bit of insight. They realize deep within themselves that the law is there to accuse because they feel utterly accused. The churches they hear Christianity from see it as a goal though. Therefore, these perceptive people leave Christianity and go follow the Dead. They place an unfounded and destructive trust in the world rather than God.
The other type of person has some superficial success in following the outward acts of the law and they hang in there. They, like the doctor I know, bring their achievement mentality into their faith. Inwardly, the law is doing its work, forcing the personality of this Christian to split like the Wonder Twins or an amoeba. One of the Wonder Twins is here this morning at this service. You are singing hymns, saying prayers, and being very discreet about checking your watch. The other Wonder Twin is at home waiting on you to return like Cato does with Inspector Clouseau. That is the Wonder Twin with baggage. It is that unbelievable fight you just had with your husband or your father. It is that incredible lust you feel that destroys you deep inside. It is the silent grudge you hold against your wife or mother that has lasted for years or decades.
It is this theology of achievement, this emphasis on improvement that will not allow your profoundly broken and sinful self to come to the only place it could possibly come to be healed. And maybe it has never really been offered to you.
In Galatians 4:22-23, Paul says, “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.” He later goes on to say that these two sons are born of two covenants. One is a slave and comes from Mt. Sinai (where the law was given). The other is free and comes from Jerusalem. This is the son of the promise. Paul says the slave will be cast out but we are not slaves, but free. Christians are children of the promise; not children under slavery to the law.
Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your overpowering lust? Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your addiction? Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your incessant nagging of your husband over unimportant details? What deep, dark wound in your life is the blood of Christ not powerful enough to cover and redeem?
The answer is that nothing was excluded. The blood of Christ reconciles your whole being, even the part of you that might embarrass you in certain circles. This is called being a child of the promise. This brings us back to the waitress I encountered in Birmingham. She might not know what justification or sanctification mean, but she understood at a fundamental level that there was a deep, dark wound that she had no control over. She did not hide it from herself or God. She tattooed it down her back. “God save my family.” What a plea and it is the plea of the barren woman in verse 27:
“For it is written, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; For more are the children of the desolate Than of the one who has a husband."
What is this barrenness that we find in this portion of Scripture? It is the barrenness of Romans 3 where Paul says, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God.” It is the barrenness of Mary Magdalene in Luke 7 when she weeps at the feet of Christ while upstanding citizens sit and gawk. It is the woman at the well who had her whole life revealed before her eyes and goes into town to tell people about the Lord. It is Peter who denied the Lord and was welcomed back.
It is you. You who went through a divorce which crushed you inside. You who are an alcoholic and understand that you have no control. You who on the outside are blameless, but in private berate your wife or children. You who live in living terror over the uncertainty of tomorrow. You who have your Wonder Twin waiting at home for you. The Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost. And this means you.
And it says here, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband." You are a child of the promise through Christ and not a child of slavery. So bask your entire being in the brilliant radiance of the forgiving love of Christ.
It is for the sake of Christ that I can say to you this morning, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen.
Last fall, I was in Birmingham eating at a restaurant with a friend of mine. A young lady was waiting on us and I was pretty relaxed and in a chatty mood. When she left after taking our order I noticed she had some sort of tattoo on the back of her neck. When she returned, I playfully asked what it said. She hesitated for a moment and I could tell she was a little embarrassed, but pretty forlorn, too. She said, “It says ‘God Save My Family.’” Then, she turned and walked off. Well, that completely ruined my evening. In the midst of all this frivolity and fun (like the Chili’s commercials) simmered a dire pain, hidden because of shame and fear. It is the same in this place here today. It is this compartmentalization, or separation in who we really are as compared to how we present ourselves that I wish to discuss this morning.
Paul begins this morning’s passage with quite an accusatory question in Galatians 4:21: “Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?” I met an M.D. once who had achieved brilliantly according to the world’s standards. He had breezed through high school, was magna cum laude in college, and graduated from one of the world’s best medical schools. He became a Christian and then inserted his view of achievement into Christianity and went many years like this. Just give me a goal and get out of the way while I achieve it. Well, he has moved on to other interests. “Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?” “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” A thought of anger is the same as murder. A lustful thought is the same as adultery. Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? Earlier in chapter 3, Paul says that every one who is under the law is under a curse. This is because the law accuses the inward and outward aspects of being human.
Now as the fallen creatures we are, we desperately want to justify ourselves. We desperately want to assert ourselves as our own entities. Two types of people emerge from this brand of Christianity. One type has a good bit of insight. They realize deep within themselves that the law is there to accuse because they feel utterly accused. The churches they hear Christianity from see it as a goal though. Therefore, these perceptive people leave Christianity and go follow the Dead. They place an unfounded and destructive trust in the world rather than God.
The other type of person has some superficial success in following the outward acts of the law and they hang in there. They, like the doctor I know, bring their achievement mentality into their faith. Inwardly, the law is doing its work, forcing the personality of this Christian to split like the Wonder Twins or an amoeba. One of the Wonder Twins is here this morning at this service. You are singing hymns, saying prayers, and being very discreet about checking your watch. The other Wonder Twin is at home waiting on you to return like Cato does with Inspector Clouseau. That is the Wonder Twin with baggage. It is that unbelievable fight you just had with your husband or your father. It is that incredible lust you feel that destroys you deep inside. It is the silent grudge you hold against your wife or mother that has lasted for years or decades.
It is this theology of achievement, this emphasis on improvement that will not allow your profoundly broken and sinful self to come to the only place it could possibly come to be healed. And maybe it has never really been offered to you.
In Galatians 4:22-23, Paul says, “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.” He later goes on to say that these two sons are born of two covenants. One is a slave and comes from Mt. Sinai (where the law was given). The other is free and comes from Jerusalem. This is the son of the promise. Paul says the slave will be cast out but we are not slaves, but free. Christians are children of the promise; not children under slavery to the law.
Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your overpowering lust? Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your addiction? Do you imagine the substitutionary atonement of Christ did not include your incessant nagging of your husband over unimportant details? What deep, dark wound in your life is the blood of Christ not powerful enough to cover and redeem?
The answer is that nothing was excluded. The blood of Christ reconciles your whole being, even the part of you that might embarrass you in certain circles. This is called being a child of the promise. This brings us back to the waitress I encountered in Birmingham. She might not know what justification or sanctification mean, but she understood at a fundamental level that there was a deep, dark wound that she had no control over. She did not hide it from herself or God. She tattooed it down her back. “God save my family.” What a plea and it is the plea of the barren woman in verse 27:
“For it is written, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; For more are the children of the desolate Than of the one who has a husband."
What is this barrenness that we find in this portion of Scripture? It is the barrenness of Romans 3 where Paul says, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God.” It is the barrenness of Mary Magdalene in Luke 7 when she weeps at the feet of Christ while upstanding citizens sit and gawk. It is the woman at the well who had her whole life revealed before her eyes and goes into town to tell people about the Lord. It is Peter who denied the Lord and was welcomed back.
It is you. You who went through a divorce which crushed you inside. You who are an alcoholic and understand that you have no control. You who on the outside are blameless, but in private berate your wife or children. You who live in living terror over the uncertainty of tomorrow. You who have your Wonder Twin waiting at home for you. The Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost. And this means you.
And it says here, "Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear; Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for more are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband." You are a child of the promise through Christ and not a child of slavery. So bask your entire being in the brilliant radiance of the forgiving love of Christ.
It is for the sake of Christ that I can say to you this morning, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen.
posted by David Browder at 6/13/2006 04:53:00 PM
8 Comments:
David, this is just excellent gospel preaching. I put it down to beginner's luck. It really reminds me, as I always need reminding in this gut level way, that I am a child of God's promise, not my performance. I guess next time you'll give us the 7 principals for successfully claiming the promise, right?
Ah, Miguel, I always look forward to your wit!
David, you can judge the sincerity of the following by asking yourself what’s in it for Walter. But, truth is that there is only one word to describe your sermon, and it is “Zahlian.” Your weaving of the angst we all feel from day to day (and especially late at night) to bring out the pattern of what is a deep theological carpet is what I mean by that honest accolade. Your product seems perfectly seamless, and I suppose this is because the blending of doctrine, “life as she is lived,” and anxiety as it is suffered seems to be the fruit of insights given by a veridical anthropology and not of a sermon plan.
I will also tell you that I have taken a riff from your comments on barrenness and blessing to illustrate what is wrong with the idea of prevenient grace in an upcoming talk. Thanks for that. Also, I think I see that physician around from time to time.
Now if EXCUSA can just choose the “right” person for PB so we can have a shot at a bishop who recognizes what TESM has to offer . . . .
Rock on. I also hear, as does Waltero, that it is "Zahlian". Take that for what it is.
It's a proper view of redemption. Reading this sermon was a breath of fresh air after reading some of the stuff already spewing out of GC2006 (i.e. the Integrity press conference).
Thank you. Well done. The Lord be praised.
Thanks y'all. Now, I actually did have 7 tips for liberated living. Do you think I should give them?
Walter, you were definitely not the MD I had in mind.
Congratulations on first sermon. Your reach for the promise is promising to me.
The sermon is not particularly "Zahlian," it just connects with the real world. It reminded me of the 'good' sermons that we used to hear at church camp--real, vibrant, unmasking, and Christ-focused. These were the sermons that actually changed people because you weren't piling a load on people's shoulders.
If this is a Zahlian sermon (which it's not), then we need lots more of them.
Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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Nice idea with this site its better than most of the rubbish I come across.
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