Imagine No Religion

Text for this Sunday's sermon/conversation: Acts 3:1-4:22

I think religion sucks... at least dead religion. But man, it's pandemic around here. Can you imagine no dead religion in God's Church?


God is the living, breathing Creator of life... He is spirit, and - by extension - we too are spiritual beings. Humans are made in God's image... and the primary thing that sets us apart from all the other animals that dwell on this earth is our ability to create beautiful things. Oh, we can teach chimps to use sign language. Whoopty-doo. Can we teach them to engineer a bridge...? or compose a musical score...? or draft a speech like Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream"...? or paint something hauntingly beautiful like the Mona Lisa? Nope. Mind you, most of us can't do those things either, but all people possess a creative quality that transcends all other species... period. Humanity is special... unique... specially gifted with the ability to imagine and forecast, and ponder, and dream, and visualize something that goes beyond our ability to see with physical eyes.


But when it comes to faith in Jesus Christ... we so easily get stuck in a rut of religiousity. Rather than beauty and passion, our relationship with the One who loves us is often marked by laziness and mediocrity. Rather than living out the life of Christ with zest and gusto... most of us are merely trying to survive the perils of this world. Rather than being in a constant state of awe that sets our hearts on fire... many so-called Christians treat the gospel like its a burden to carry, or a secret to hide. So many of us find ourselves going through the motions with no real sense of trust that God wants to use His Church to turn the world upside down.


Why? Why are we so determined to keep God at arm's length? Why are we so utterly good at holding our Creator in contempt? Why do we continue to wear masks of hypocrisy, even while knowing it breaks the heart of God? He wants all to come to Him... but not halfway... half-baked... half-hearted... half assed. He wants to reconcile this world to Himself... through us - His ambassadors. But how is that supposed to happen if we don't really believe He's capable?


Peter and John believed Jesus is capable. In fact, they were so convinced He can heal the sick, they touched a beggar who couldn't walk... and God instantly gave him the strength to get up and leap for joy! Funny... but the Bible doesn't say it was his faith that did it. Nope... it was Peter and John's faith that God is powerfully at work through those who believe in Him that healed the guy. Do we have that same belief about God? In the midst of a spiritually crippled world... do we really believe that God can radically change lives for the better? For that matter... do we even believe He can change our lives for the better?


Peter and John not only believed it enough to act by faith... they also told the world about Jesus Christ... regardless of what it might cost them personally. Standing there on the street corner... infused with confidence after watching God perform a miracle in their midst... Peter stood up and boldly announced to anyone who would listen that Jesus is Lord. The same man who denied he knew Christ at one time was now truly willing to live (and die) for His Savior. Peter and John knew it was going to cost them, but they actually dared to believe that God would remain with them... and reveal His glory... regardless of the circumstances they found themselves in. Are we willing to share our faith so boldly... even in the face of persecution?


And when they stood before the Jewish council to answer for their "crimes," Peter and John made no apology for their passionate exaltations... in fact, they completely rejected the threats of punishment as nothing more than a bunch of hot air by mere men. They simply didn't care what the council of rulers and elders and teachers thought, or threatened to do. Their lives had been radically transformed by the One who died and was raised again as Lord and Master... so Peter and John weren't going to let some puffed-up religious bullies try to stifle them from shouting God's glory from the rooftops! Peter and John weren't religious, per se. Nope... God revealed Himself to those two men so clearly... so powerfully... so authentically... that they had something far more than a system of religion... they oozed with eternal life born out by God's Holy Spirit! So how about us? Do we ooze with eternal life too? If not... then why the heck not?


That's what I want for me... for my family... for my church... for my denomination... and for my Christian brothers and sisters in this cold, dark world - that we would stop playing religious games, and get serious about being true disciples of Jesus Christ. He doesn't want our dead religion, people... He wants our heart and soul and mind and strength... He wants ALL of us to be always engaged with His Word, His Spirit, His will, and His love. He wants us - His children - to be the creative, passionate, audacious, fearless, kick-ass disciples of Christ we were intended to be... we were re-born to be! Are you ready to change the world yet? Are you ready to stop playing religious games and start healing the spiritually (and physically) sick in Jesus' name? Then c'mon... let's get off our spiritual butts and live as if we believe it!

Ballroom Dancing

Text for this Sunday's sermon/conversation at The River: John 15

"'Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.'"


Live in me. Wow. Somehow, I've missed that phrase before. I mean, we're all taught that God lives in us, right? We accept Jesus into our life and the Holy Spirit mysteriously comes to dwell inside our heart. Very cut and dried... a bit confusing perhaps, but nevertheless a clear pathway to becoming a Christian.


Okay, in truth I don't really understand how God could truly "live" inside of me... but hey, it's a statement of faith, right? However, when I read this passage about grapes and vines, it kind of changes my presuppositions about how God chooses to "live" in me... because I'm also informed that I need to "live" in Him. That kind of revelation will either cause a complete metaphor meltdown for followers of Jesus... or possibly guide us to better understanding the thoroughly and completely relational nature of our God.


"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you..." Have you ever thought of that before... I mean really thought of it? Jesus isn't giving us some kind of metaphysical formula for salvation here. No, he's inviting us into a partnership of relationship with the Triune God - Father, Spirit and Son. Entering into this partnership is like stepping on the dance floor of a great ballroom, expecting Jesus to lead us... and being willing to go where he guides us. His part is to lead and guide... whereas our part is to trust in his leadership and submit to his breathtakingly beautiful style and grace.


Living in Jesus is far more organic than woodenly mechanical . Faith is not merely blind obedience to someone we cannot see or hear. Heck no! Living in Jesus is a response of our spirit to the One who formed us... who knows our name... who understands our pain... who knows what we've done and failed to do... who continually offers us the opportunity to stop living according to our flesh, and instead place ourselves in His arms and simply dance with Him. To live  in Jesus is to become perfectly in sync with the gorgeous melody of God's will, and His mysterious plan of salvation in and through Christ.


I'm on the dance floor most of the time. In fact, there have been times that the dance has been so awesome I have forgotten where I am for awhile. However, much of my life in Christ, I have been a rather poor dancing partner. Either I step on his toes, or try to choreograph moves of my own (which feel awkward and off time with the music). Heck, sometimes I stop dancing with him altogether. But that's what I love about Jesus... He patiently waits there for me as I thrash about in my paranoid schizophrenic state of mind trying to decide whether or not he's really a good enough dancer to entrust myself to him that much... that thoroughly... that completely.


Of course the answer is yes... I mean, really - who makes a better dance partner than the One who created rhythm itself? The One who inspired the Waltz and the Tango and the Foxtrot? The One who formed us together in our mother's womb? Who better to "make our home in" than the One who came to us... and laid down his life for our sake? Duh!