The call of God
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series V, Cycle B
Theme For The Day: The call of God. The boy Samuel had to be taught not only to hear the call of God but to recognize the call as coming from God and respond affirmatively. In the Second Lesson, the Corinthian Christians had to be made to realize that they must respond to Christ's call not only with their minds but also their bodies. In the Gospel, Christ calls his first disciples.
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10 (11--20) (C, E); 1 Samuel 3:3--10, 19 (RC)
The young Samuel has been apprenticed to the elderly priest, Levi, and is sleeping near the place where the Ark of the Covenant is kept. Three times the lad hears his name called and, thinking it was Levi, goes to him. By the third time, Levi realizes that the Lord was calling to Samuel and instructs him to respond: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening" the next time he hears the voice.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20 (C); 1 Corinthians 6:13--15, 17--20 (RC); 1 Corinthians 6:11b--20 (E)
The Corinthians lived in a culture of sexual impurity, not too different from that which we inhabit. It was no surprise that many of the new Christians engaged in pornographic activities. In fact, their twisting of the doctrine of grace gave them license to engage in adulterous activities. If God forgives us in Christ, why not sin? They also separated the things of the body from the things of the Spirit. They held that the body was of lesser importance, having no real eternal significance. Therefore, it didn't matter what a person did in his body. Paul preached a holistic theology of the human person; body and spirit are fused. He taught that the body of the believer becomes one with the Body of Christ in spiritual union. The new believers were taught the ethical implications of Christian discipleship.
Gospel: John 1:43--51 (C, E); John 1:35--42 (RC)
John the Baptist was conducting his ministry of baptismal cleansing when he observed Jesus and pointed to him exclaiming: "Look, the Lamb of God!" Two disciples followed Jesus to his home. One of the two was Andrew, who went to call his brother Peter the very next day (vv. 35--42). Then Jesus decided to go back to Galilee, where he called Philip. Philip hurried to his brother Nathanael with the claim to have found the Messiah. Nathanael was not impressed but went with his brother to meet Jesus. In that encounter Jesus commends Nathanael's honesty. Nathanael wonders how Jesus knows him. Jesus replies that he saw him under the fig tree before his brother called him. The call of Christ goes out through those who themselves have encountered Christ.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 139:1--6, 13--18 (C) - "I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (v. 14).
Psalm 63:1--8 (E) - "I will praise you as long as I live" (v. 4).
Psalm 39 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Lord of Life, you have called us to follow like Andrew and Philip. Make the ears of our spirit sensitive to your voice that we might both hear and heed your call to discipleship. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10
When God is silent. The passage relates that the word of God was very rare in Samuel's day (v. 1). Had God removed himself? No, the word of God was not heard because this was an age of spiritual impurity and darkness. The religious establishment, the mediator of God's presence, was corrupt. Eli's sons were employing their religious positions for selfish advantage and Eli didn't have the gumption to reign in these rebels. God had become nearly mute because of an oppressive spiritual atmosphere.
Lack of vision. God's lack of communication is linked with the dearth of spiritual visions. Spiritual visions were the customary means by which the prophets received messages from on high. There were not many visions in those days (v. 1). Also, Eli's physical sight had grown dim (v. 2). Here we see a pathetic figure of a religious leader who had lost most of his physical and spiritual vision. Lack of spiritual vision haunts every age. Jesus speaks of the folly of the blind leading the blind. The dangers of the world in which we live are heightened because so many of our leaders lack a worthy spiritual vision of where God is leading us.
The lamp of the Lord had not yet gone out (v. 3).The sanctuary lamp was supplied with just enough fuel to burn through the night. The verse suggests that the supply of oil was running low. Therefore, it was probably near dawn. Some ages of humankind are more spiritually enlightened than others, but even in the darkest of times the lamp of God's eternal presence has not gone out. Elijah had forgotten that when he complained to the Lord, during the time that Jezebel was chasing him, he thought he was the only one left who worshipped the Lord. God reminded him that there were thousands who were still reflecting the light of their faith. Or, as the prologue to John's gospel states, "The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not overcome it" (v. 5).
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20
Christian freedom. Paul attempts to address the problem of moral license which so plagued the Corinthian Church. Some members of that church maintained that Christ freed them to do as they wished. Paul corrected them by teaching that Christian freedom means that we are no longer slaves of the tyranny of sin; we are free to do that which is good and loving.
A theology of the body. The Greeks thought that the body was of no importance. Paul teaches that our body belongs to the Lord (v. 13) and is a temple of God. Therefore, we should honor and respect it as a holy place. In his case against prostitution he teaches that our bodies are members of Christ's body, the church. Christianity elevates bodily existence.
Shun immorality (v. 18). Paul uses the word "immorality" in a narrow sense here, referring to sins committed with the body, sexual sins. He seems to regard them with special horror, probably because he witnessed the destructive hold that such sins could have on people. Shunning immorality in Corinth was a Herculean task. Temptations of the flesh abounded, a situation not too far different than we face in this land of freedom. Television, magazines, and movies make alluring the sins of the flesh. Sex marketing transpires not on the street corners but in our living rooms. It's harder and harder to shun immorality. Why is Paul so insistent on giving sexual immorality the cold shoulder? Because such sins seem so natural and innocent. We can walk away at any time, so we reason. A little titillation here, a little stimulation there won't hurt anyone. But then slowly, strand by gossamer strand, sexual sins weave their sensuous silk about us so that we are no longer free; we are prey.
Gospel: John 1:43--51
Jackpot. When Philip found Jesus he was really excited. He had hit the spiritual jackpot by finding the One who fulfilled the hopes of the Hebrew religious community. He was so enthusiastic that he ran to Nathanael to share the joy of his discovery.
Come and see. Nathanael's somewhat cynical response, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" did not dampen Philip's excitement at finding the Christ. Philip's response was super. He could have let this comment discourage him. He could have become argumentative and testy. But why? He didn't have to prove anything. "Come and see!" he urged. Philip knew that he didn't have to sell Jesus; Jesus would sell himself. All that any of us can do as witnesses of the gospel is extend a gracious invitation: come and see!
What you see is what you get. Jesus met Nathanael with a compliment. "Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false" (v. 47). Nothing phony, nothing pretentious, nothing dishonest about Nathanael. What you see is what you get.
A passage to heaven. Last week's Gospel of our Lord's Baptism has Jesus coming out of the Jordan River as the heavens opened and the Spirit descended on him like a dove. In this week's Gospel, Jesus announces to Nathanael "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (v. 50). The metaphor of the ladder draws on the story of Jacob's dream, when he slept in Bethel as he fled the wrath of his brother (Genesis 28:10--17). Jesus is our passage to heaven, a doorway to the divine. We cannot climb up, but through faith we are transported into the nearer presence of God.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10
Sermon Title: Learning To Recognize God's Voice
Sermon Angle: The young Samuel was an apprentice minister and while he slept in the sanctuary, near the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized God's presence, he heard God's voice. The problem was that he didn't recognize God's voice, thinking it was Levi. Levi, finally realizing that the Lord was trying to get the lad's attention, told him how to reply. Samuel learned to recognize the voice of the Lord and to listen.
Outline:
1. Samuel lived in God's house but didn't know the Lord or recognize his voice.
2. Levi helped Samuel recognize God's voice and respond.
3. Some of us have been brought up in God's house (the church) but have not come to recognize the Lord's voice.
4. We learn to hear God's voice from those who are spiritually mature and from worship and the practice of prayer.
Sermon Title: Sleeping In Church
Sermon Angle: Just about every preacher has had somebody fall asleep during his or her sermon. In my last parish one farmer closed his eyes during every sermon I ever preached. Too bad I didn't have a Super Soaker water gun. But let's be honest, we have all slept in church on some occasions. Our eyes may have been open but our minds were on the golf course, the movie theater, or even the bedroom. The young Samuel slept in church not only physically but spiritually, until God finally woke him. The message that God gave Samuel (not in this pericope) was that religious leaders were spiritually asleep and were about to be rudely awakened by the Lord himself.
Outline:
Introduction: Have you ever slept in church? Take comfort because you are not the first. Remember Eutycus who fell asleep during the apostle Paul's late night sermon and then fell out of the second--story window? In this lesson we see that Samuel slept regularly in church.
1. Like Samuel, we can be in God's house, a part of his family, and not know his voice. Spiritually asleep.
2. Learn to recognize God's voice - through spiritual mentoring, study, prayer and worship.
3. First give God your ear, and then your life, in humble obedience.
__________
The United States was founded on a religious vision, a city set on a hill, a community where God is ruler. John Winthrop wrote in the prologue to the Mayflower Compact that those who signed the covenant to establish a colony in America were doing so to the "glory of God" and "the advancement of the Christian faith." He envisioned that if the citizens of this new land were faithful to God "the Lord will...command a blessing upon us in all our ways." Much of the spiritual struggle in our land today is between those who still view America as a nation under God and those who hold to a secular vision of America as a place where we have the right to do our own thing.
__________
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20
Sermon Title: Body Language
Sermon Angle: We communicate who we are not only through our words but via our bodies. Our bodies communicate love, hate, boredom, worry and a host of other messages. The Corinthians had disregarded body language as an expression of their true selves. Paul maintains that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit which communicate his true presence. We are to praise God through our bodies.
Outline:
1. Our bodies send messages.
2. Many Corinthian Christians communicated a body language which contradicted their faith in Christ.
3. Is your body glorifying God? Does your church body glorify Christ?
4. Make certain your body language glorifies the Lord!
Sermon Title: A Glorified Body
Sermon Angle: The New Testament speaks of the resurrected body as a glorified body. Yet in this lection Paul urges the church "glorify God in your body." In other words, praise God in and through your body. The object is not to glorify our bodies but glorify God through our bodies. We glorify the Lord through our bodies by living lives of obedience and spiritual integrity. We glorify God in our bodies by using them as God intended, not perverting them into instruments of power or selfish self--satisfaction. To recap, we glorify God in our bodies by keeping them holy to the Lord. Every Christian should have a glorified body.
Outline:
1. Millions of people spend every spare moment in glorifying themselves through their bodies (bodybuilding, dieting, makeup, sports and so forth).
2. The Corinthians worshipped their bodies through the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures.
3. The result was a degradation of their personal bodies and of Christ's Body.
4. Glorify God in your body by taking care of it and using it in the service of Christ.
Gospel: John 1:43--51
Sermon Title: Mission Mandate: Witness To The Christ!
Sermon Angle: Jesus called Philip to be his disciple and Philip was so enthusiastic about his newfound Lord that he ran to Nathanael with the news that he had found the Messiah promised in the scriptures. Nathanael was skeptical but Philip persisted. "Come and see" (v. 46). To know Christ is to share Christ. The good news cannot be contained. Christians are not called to convert anyone; that's the Lord's job. Our call is merely to share what Christ means to us and to invite friends and neighbors to come and see for themselves.
Outline:
1. Our relationship with Christ cannot be bottled up.
2. The Spirit moves us to share him with others (like Philip).
3. We can witness to Christ most effectively with friends and neighbors.
4. Invite friends or neighbors this week to check Christ out for themselves.
Sermon Title: In Search Of An Authentic Faith
Sermon Angle: Nathanael was like Thomas; he wasn't willing to accept easy answers. He wasn't willing merely to borrow someone else's faith. He had to experience it for himself. When Jesus met him, he complimented Nathanael as a man of integrity. He wasn't willing to hide behind an unexamined and superficial faith--mask. He would accept nothing other than an honest--to--God faith, an authentic faith. What is an authentic faith? These elements need to be present. (1) A well thought--out belief system, (2) a decision of the will to follow Christ in response to his gift of grace, (3) an authentic experience of the Spirit of Christ through prayer, Word and worship, (4) which shows itself in a life of obedience and service.
__________
A majority of Americans hold that our land is gripped by a moral and spiritual malaise. Sixty--five per cent of Americans maintain that religion is losing its influence on American life. Interestingly, 62 percent of these same people hold that religion is gaining influence in their own lives. Apparently, we don't see ourselves as part of the problem. Stephen Carter, author of The Culture of Disbelief, lays blame for our societal decay on the fencing out of religion from our public life. He maintains that we have insisted that the religiously faithful act as if their faith did not matter.
On the outside America is just as religious as ever. The vast majority of Americans believe in God. In fact, it could be argued than we are more religious than ever. The percentage of Americans who belong to a church is nearly four times what it was when we gained our independence over 200 years ago. So the debate is not whether or not it's all right to be religious but about the role of religion and spirituality in the public domain. Can any faith be deemed authentic if it does not inform who we are and how we conduct ourselves in the public domain?
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10 (11--20) (C, E); 1 Samuel 3:3--10, 19 (RC)
The young Samuel has been apprenticed to the elderly priest, Levi, and is sleeping near the place where the Ark of the Covenant is kept. Three times the lad hears his name called and, thinking it was Levi, goes to him. By the third time, Levi realizes that the Lord was calling to Samuel and instructs him to respond: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening" the next time he hears the voice.
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20 (C); 1 Corinthians 6:13--15, 17--20 (RC); 1 Corinthians 6:11b--20 (E)
The Corinthians lived in a culture of sexual impurity, not too different from that which we inhabit. It was no surprise that many of the new Christians engaged in pornographic activities. In fact, their twisting of the doctrine of grace gave them license to engage in adulterous activities. If God forgives us in Christ, why not sin? They also separated the things of the body from the things of the Spirit. They held that the body was of lesser importance, having no real eternal significance. Therefore, it didn't matter what a person did in his body. Paul preached a holistic theology of the human person; body and spirit are fused. He taught that the body of the believer becomes one with the Body of Christ in spiritual union. The new believers were taught the ethical implications of Christian discipleship.
Gospel: John 1:43--51 (C, E); John 1:35--42 (RC)
John the Baptist was conducting his ministry of baptismal cleansing when he observed Jesus and pointed to him exclaiming: "Look, the Lamb of God!" Two disciples followed Jesus to his home. One of the two was Andrew, who went to call his brother Peter the very next day (vv. 35--42). Then Jesus decided to go back to Galilee, where he called Philip. Philip hurried to his brother Nathanael with the claim to have found the Messiah. Nathanael was not impressed but went with his brother to meet Jesus. In that encounter Jesus commends Nathanael's honesty. Nathanael wonders how Jesus knows him. Jesus replies that he saw him under the fig tree before his brother called him. The call of Christ goes out through those who themselves have encountered Christ.
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 139:1--6, 13--18 (C) - "I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (v. 14).
Psalm 63:1--8 (E) - "I will praise you as long as I live" (v. 4).
Psalm 39 (RC)
Prayer Of The Day
Lord of Life, you have called us to follow like Andrew and Philip. Make the ears of our spirit sensitive to your voice that we might both hear and heed your call to discipleship. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10
When God is silent. The passage relates that the word of God was very rare in Samuel's day (v. 1). Had God removed himself? No, the word of God was not heard because this was an age of spiritual impurity and darkness. The religious establishment, the mediator of God's presence, was corrupt. Eli's sons were employing their religious positions for selfish advantage and Eli didn't have the gumption to reign in these rebels. God had become nearly mute because of an oppressive spiritual atmosphere.
Lack of vision. God's lack of communication is linked with the dearth of spiritual visions. Spiritual visions were the customary means by which the prophets received messages from on high. There were not many visions in those days (v. 1). Also, Eli's physical sight had grown dim (v. 2). Here we see a pathetic figure of a religious leader who had lost most of his physical and spiritual vision. Lack of spiritual vision haunts every age. Jesus speaks of the folly of the blind leading the blind. The dangers of the world in which we live are heightened because so many of our leaders lack a worthy spiritual vision of where God is leading us.
The lamp of the Lord had not yet gone out (v. 3).The sanctuary lamp was supplied with just enough fuel to burn through the night. The verse suggests that the supply of oil was running low. Therefore, it was probably near dawn. Some ages of humankind are more spiritually enlightened than others, but even in the darkest of times the lamp of God's eternal presence has not gone out. Elijah had forgotten that when he complained to the Lord, during the time that Jezebel was chasing him, he thought he was the only one left who worshipped the Lord. God reminded him that there were thousands who were still reflecting the light of their faith. Or, as the prologue to John's gospel states, "The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not overcome it" (v. 5).
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20
Christian freedom. Paul attempts to address the problem of moral license which so plagued the Corinthian Church. Some members of that church maintained that Christ freed them to do as they wished. Paul corrected them by teaching that Christian freedom means that we are no longer slaves of the tyranny of sin; we are free to do that which is good and loving.
A theology of the body. The Greeks thought that the body was of no importance. Paul teaches that our body belongs to the Lord (v. 13) and is a temple of God. Therefore, we should honor and respect it as a holy place. In his case against prostitution he teaches that our bodies are members of Christ's body, the church. Christianity elevates bodily existence.
Shun immorality (v. 18). Paul uses the word "immorality" in a narrow sense here, referring to sins committed with the body, sexual sins. He seems to regard them with special horror, probably because he witnessed the destructive hold that such sins could have on people. Shunning immorality in Corinth was a Herculean task. Temptations of the flesh abounded, a situation not too far different than we face in this land of freedom. Television, magazines, and movies make alluring the sins of the flesh. Sex marketing transpires not on the street corners but in our living rooms. It's harder and harder to shun immorality. Why is Paul so insistent on giving sexual immorality the cold shoulder? Because such sins seem so natural and innocent. We can walk away at any time, so we reason. A little titillation here, a little stimulation there won't hurt anyone. But then slowly, strand by gossamer strand, sexual sins weave their sensuous silk about us so that we are no longer free; we are prey.
Gospel: John 1:43--51
Jackpot. When Philip found Jesus he was really excited. He had hit the spiritual jackpot by finding the One who fulfilled the hopes of the Hebrew religious community. He was so enthusiastic that he ran to Nathanael to share the joy of his discovery.
Come and see. Nathanael's somewhat cynical response, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" did not dampen Philip's excitement at finding the Christ. Philip's response was super. He could have let this comment discourage him. He could have become argumentative and testy. But why? He didn't have to prove anything. "Come and see!" he urged. Philip knew that he didn't have to sell Jesus; Jesus would sell himself. All that any of us can do as witnesses of the gospel is extend a gracious invitation: come and see!
What you see is what you get. Jesus met Nathanael with a compliment. "Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false" (v. 47). Nothing phony, nothing pretentious, nothing dishonest about Nathanael. What you see is what you get.
A passage to heaven. Last week's Gospel of our Lord's Baptism has Jesus coming out of the Jordan River as the heavens opened and the Spirit descended on him like a dove. In this week's Gospel, Jesus announces to Nathanael "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (v. 50). The metaphor of the ladder draws on the story of Jacob's dream, when he slept in Bethel as he fled the wrath of his brother (Genesis 28:10--17). Jesus is our passage to heaven, a doorway to the divine. We cannot climb up, but through faith we are transported into the nearer presence of God.
SERMON APPROACHES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
Lesson 1: 1 Samuel 3:1--10
Sermon Title: Learning To Recognize God's Voice
Sermon Angle: The young Samuel was an apprentice minister and while he slept in the sanctuary, near the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized God's presence, he heard God's voice. The problem was that he didn't recognize God's voice, thinking it was Levi. Levi, finally realizing that the Lord was trying to get the lad's attention, told him how to reply. Samuel learned to recognize the voice of the Lord and to listen.
Outline:
1. Samuel lived in God's house but didn't know the Lord or recognize his voice.
2. Levi helped Samuel recognize God's voice and respond.
3. Some of us have been brought up in God's house (the church) but have not come to recognize the Lord's voice.
4. We learn to hear God's voice from those who are spiritually mature and from worship and the practice of prayer.
Sermon Title: Sleeping In Church
Sermon Angle: Just about every preacher has had somebody fall asleep during his or her sermon. In my last parish one farmer closed his eyes during every sermon I ever preached. Too bad I didn't have a Super Soaker water gun. But let's be honest, we have all slept in church on some occasions. Our eyes may have been open but our minds were on the golf course, the movie theater, or even the bedroom. The young Samuel slept in church not only physically but spiritually, until God finally woke him. The message that God gave Samuel (not in this pericope) was that religious leaders were spiritually asleep and were about to be rudely awakened by the Lord himself.
Outline:
Introduction: Have you ever slept in church? Take comfort because you are not the first. Remember Eutycus who fell asleep during the apostle Paul's late night sermon and then fell out of the second--story window? In this lesson we see that Samuel slept regularly in church.
1. Like Samuel, we can be in God's house, a part of his family, and not know his voice. Spiritually asleep.
2. Learn to recognize God's voice - through spiritual mentoring, study, prayer and worship.
3. First give God your ear, and then your life, in humble obedience.
__________
The United States was founded on a religious vision, a city set on a hill, a community where God is ruler. John Winthrop wrote in the prologue to the Mayflower Compact that those who signed the covenant to establish a colony in America were doing so to the "glory of God" and "the advancement of the Christian faith." He envisioned that if the citizens of this new land were faithful to God "the Lord will...command a blessing upon us in all our ways." Much of the spiritual struggle in our land today is between those who still view America as a nation under God and those who hold to a secular vision of America as a place where we have the right to do our own thing.
__________
Lesson 2: 1 Corinthians 6:12--20
Sermon Title: Body Language
Sermon Angle: We communicate who we are not only through our words but via our bodies. Our bodies communicate love, hate, boredom, worry and a host of other messages. The Corinthians had disregarded body language as an expression of their true selves. Paul maintains that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit which communicate his true presence. We are to praise God through our bodies.
Outline:
1. Our bodies send messages.
2. Many Corinthian Christians communicated a body language which contradicted their faith in Christ.
3. Is your body glorifying God? Does your church body glorify Christ?
4. Make certain your body language glorifies the Lord!
Sermon Title: A Glorified Body
Sermon Angle: The New Testament speaks of the resurrected body as a glorified body. Yet in this lection Paul urges the church "glorify God in your body." In other words, praise God in and through your body. The object is not to glorify our bodies but glorify God through our bodies. We glorify the Lord through our bodies by living lives of obedience and spiritual integrity. We glorify God in our bodies by using them as God intended, not perverting them into instruments of power or selfish self--satisfaction. To recap, we glorify God in our bodies by keeping them holy to the Lord. Every Christian should have a glorified body.
Outline:
1. Millions of people spend every spare moment in glorifying themselves through their bodies (bodybuilding, dieting, makeup, sports and so forth).
2. The Corinthians worshipped their bodies through the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures.
3. The result was a degradation of their personal bodies and of Christ's Body.
4. Glorify God in your body by taking care of it and using it in the service of Christ.
Gospel: John 1:43--51
Sermon Title: Mission Mandate: Witness To The Christ!
Sermon Angle: Jesus called Philip to be his disciple and Philip was so enthusiastic about his newfound Lord that he ran to Nathanael with the news that he had found the Messiah promised in the scriptures. Nathanael was skeptical but Philip persisted. "Come and see" (v. 46). To know Christ is to share Christ. The good news cannot be contained. Christians are not called to convert anyone; that's the Lord's job. Our call is merely to share what Christ means to us and to invite friends and neighbors to come and see for themselves.
Outline:
1. Our relationship with Christ cannot be bottled up.
2. The Spirit moves us to share him with others (like Philip).
3. We can witness to Christ most effectively with friends and neighbors.
4. Invite friends or neighbors this week to check Christ out for themselves.
Sermon Title: In Search Of An Authentic Faith
Sermon Angle: Nathanael was like Thomas; he wasn't willing to accept easy answers. He wasn't willing merely to borrow someone else's faith. He had to experience it for himself. When Jesus met him, he complimented Nathanael as a man of integrity. He wasn't willing to hide behind an unexamined and superficial faith--mask. He would accept nothing other than an honest--to--God faith, an authentic faith. What is an authentic faith? These elements need to be present. (1) A well thought--out belief system, (2) a decision of the will to follow Christ in response to his gift of grace, (3) an authentic experience of the Spirit of Christ through prayer, Word and worship, (4) which shows itself in a life of obedience and service.
__________
A majority of Americans hold that our land is gripped by a moral and spiritual malaise. Sixty--five per cent of Americans maintain that religion is losing its influence on American life. Interestingly, 62 percent of these same people hold that religion is gaining influence in their own lives. Apparently, we don't see ourselves as part of the problem. Stephen Carter, author of The Culture of Disbelief, lays blame for our societal decay on the fencing out of religion from our public life. He maintains that we have insisted that the religiously faithful act as if their faith did not matter.
On the outside America is just as religious as ever. The vast majority of Americans believe in God. In fact, it could be argued than we are more religious than ever. The percentage of Americans who belong to a church is nearly four times what it was when we gained our independence over 200 years ago. So the debate is not whether or not it's all right to be religious but about the role of religion and spirituality in the public domain. Can any faith be deemed authentic if it does not inform who we are and how we conduct ourselves in the public domain?
