Tuesday, 06 July 2010 12:28 Written by Bob Flack

Over at the sermon section of the website I have uploaded the manuscript and powerpoint file for the sermon last week on Hebrews 4:14-5:14. There were many expressions of encouragement coming out of the service. "Thank you for the hymns of repentance." "Thank you for our opportunity to reflect and preapre for worship during the prelude." "Thank you to Alan and the choir and Carmen for this morning's special music.!" I direct glory to God for these.

If you are looking for a specific quote and remember it being on the screen, look in the powerpoint file first. You should be able to search the file for a specific word or just browse the slides. The manuscript is helpful to extend a thought that may be summarized on a slide. Some sections of recent messages have been content-heavy. I don't apologize for that but realize that much of it may not get digested at first hearing. Please encourage others to access these files when there is some question or confusion. Comments and questions back to me are always welcome.

 

Friday, 02 July 2010 11:58 Written by Bob Flack

In light of my sermon last week, emphasizing the wilderness as the current context for our worship, I unearthed something I wrote a few years ago. I cleaned it up some. As with most parables, it is possible to push the details too far and imagine conclusions that I would not reach. Reactions are always welcome.

A Parable from the Prairie or A Tale of Two (Kinds of) Churches (or A Tale of a Church and a Para-Church)

This parable needs two notes of introduction. First, I am no historian. My allegory may, on some points, rely on imagination rather than reality. I ask for your patience. The basic analogy works even if it fails in some details. Second, I am a sinner prone to make reality fit the allegory because it boosts my comfort level or distinguishes me from those who disagree. If I slide into this, admonish me. I desire that the parable explain what is, not excuse what ought not to be.

My parable took shape in my mind as I waded through another difficult discussion with someone complaining that our church lacks “vision.” It began as a simple metaphor that, by his own admission, helped this accuser appreciate another possibility. Left to rise for a few days, the word picture leavened into a descriptive allegory. What follows is a picture of two different ways of doing church. May our understanding of each other and the Lord’s will deepen as we consider the picture.

Here in Kansas we live surrounded by prairie that reminds us of the day when pioneer wagon trains and cavalry troops rolled over the open spaces and along the trails. The cavalry at her best boasts strapping soldiers in polished boots and pressed uniforms. She recruits and retains the best men. She breeds and buys the best horses. United by disciplined training, the two ride together into battle behind the nation’s bright banner and the unit flag decked with battle streamers. Cavalry men act on specific orders and relentlessly pursue the next objective. Leadership lines are simple and strong. The verb that marks them most notably is “charge.” They are like the church or para-church organization with a “vision.”

The wagon train, in contrast, unites a band of diverse pioneers in common if vague sense of seeking a new home. Some say they won’t make it to that home in this life. But settling where they are now is not an option. They believe the last generation will get there without dying but don’t know when that will be.

Strained resources limit the procurement of fine equipment. Their animals pull more than they should. Leadership is shared and is not as straightforward as checking rank on a shoulder board. Decisions settle on the group like a fog rather than drop like rain. The train moves at the pace of the weakest member. Everyone slows for stragglers and stops to nurse the sick. They take their time to grieve the loss of those who die and dig graves for their physical remains. The verb that best describes them is “plod.” They’re prepared for anything but usually can’t react to it until it’s on top of them – disease, danger, or some other challenge. They stick together more because of the glue of common values than the goal of a specific vision.

I belong to a wagon train church. They call me pastor. These are my kind of people. Recognizing that, I’d like to pass along some messages from the wagon train to the members of the cavalry.

First, we love you. Your bravery means that we avoid dangers because you face them head on. We learn from you because you ride on ahead and scout uncharted territory. Where we are cautious, you are brave.

Second, we admire you. Secretly, some among us would like to be more like you. Your way of doing things has advantages. I have a theory that there are people in the wagon train who wish they could be in the cavalry but can’t. So they assuage their guilt by constantly pointing out how the wagon train should convert to being the cavalry or at least try to imitate you. When we do, wagon wheels fall off and loved ones fall out. We just can’t be the cavalry.

Third, we serve the same homeland. We share citizenship in the same nation. We fight a common enemy. Your flag may fly brightly before you and ours may hang limp from the side of the wagon but we both know what we stand for. At the top our Leader is the same. What we do and how we do it may look very different. But we share some profound similarities.

Fourth, we hope to be here when you need us. The cavalry cannot keep you for the rest of your life, and no one can keep up the cavalry pace indefinitely. The day will come when you need a company of people who will slow down for you. You will long for someone to sing the old songs around the campfire and not just blow the bugle. You will have to ride in the wagon rather than the saddle. When that day comes, you’ll find us. We’re the community of pilgrims stretched along the trail, plodding into the unknown. Sometimes we kick up a lot of dust, but if you look back you’ll see we’ve made progress. If you’ll be part of us, we’ll be honored to have you among us, as you are, all the way home.

Monday, 28 June 2010 13:54 Written by Bob Flack

What will it look like for the two of you to be married, to live life together, to form a family and household, to keep this covenant and fulfill the vows they are about to take? On the one hand, the answer is, "Nobody knows." You are two different people, each with your own background, experiences, and expectations. You and your marriage will be unique to you.

Neither you nor any other human could predict how you will change individually and together as in this new relationship. We can only imagine what challenges and delights lay ahead. We cannot anticipate how the world around you will change and the affect it will have on your marriage.

But let's be honest. We live in a world where an increasingly loud voice will tell you that you can make marriage whatever you want it to be. This relationship is yours to define and display according to your personal instincts, whatever might inform them. You are certainly not bound by any tradition or authority.

When we answer the question, "What will your marriage look like?" by saying "Nobody knows," it might seem as if we're saying you get to start from scratch.

Do not start from scratch but from Scripture. Here at your wedding ceremony you have chosen to read from God's word. You have directed our attention to a passage from Ephesians (5:22-33) that reaches even further back to the beginning of human history and God's design for human marriage. You have called up the living tradition. You have acknowledged that there is a recipe to follow. This is not a free for all. When addressing contemporary assumptions about love in a recently published book, Jonathan Leeman began with this very point.

"Assumption one is that no boundaries can be placed on love. Rather, love establishes all boundaries. There is no conception of truth or holiness or wisdom to condition of give a structure to such love. Love runs free, unbound by truth."

This is how many think today. But it is a recipe for disaster. Actually, it is no recipe at all. It sounds great but it is scary. By God's grace, you have chosen a different path. It is a path that views structure as a support and stimulus to love, not a strangler of love. It is a recipe for a covenant relationship that assigns each of you a different role. As a husband, love this woman by acting toward her as Jesus acts toward his bride, the church. Pprovide for and protect her and any children you may have to the point of sacrificing your life. Always lead her toward God's best. Renew her.

Love your husband by supporting him and submitting to him as the church is to submit to Christ. Direct your womanhood to encourage him to become and accomplish God's best for him and your family. Respect him.

Along with these prescriptions, I have good and bad news. The bad news is that fewer people are walking this path. You will find little cultural support to keep your marriage together on these biblical terms. In subtle and at times direct ways, you will hear the message that your approach is out-dated and even destructive. I urge you to settle it today that you are going to live out your marriage not according to the spirit of the age in order to please people, but according to God's design in order to please Him. In the paragraph just before the one Mark read, we are warned,

Ephesians 5:15-16 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Do not be foolish about marriage. Seek God's wisdom. This is a daunting challenge. You will meet it only with God's strength pouring through you by the Holy Spirit. It is no accident that in the paragraph just before the one we read God calls his people to be filled with the Spirit; place yourselves under the control of the Spirit and live dependent on his power.

The good news is that you don't have to invent marriage. You don't have to make it up as you go along. God's Spirit has given you a rich treasury of help in the Bible. In his word you have the teaching of dozens of passages specifically about marriage. You have the many memorable principles of the book of Proverbs. You have the example of godly men and women. You have the passionate poetry of the Song of Solomon. Most of all, you have the gospel of Jesus himself woven through every page to show us what true love and submission look like.

Make the worship of God through his word a priority in your relationship. Read it together. Sing songs together that help you understand and remember his word. Pray the Bible into your marriage. Start from the very beginning to make family worship a foundation stone in your home. And just as your marriage is a picture of the church, it should also be part of the church. You don't have to take on the challenge of marriage by yourselves. Take the scary step of getting deeply involved in a strong church, one that will encourage you in God's design for your life. Open yourselves to friendships within the church. Find an older couple in the fellowship and ask them, "Can we call you if we're having problems."

I praise God that you have started here, taking your vows in the shadow of a cross with God's word still echoing in this place of worship. Ground yourself in its truth so that the strange winds that blow today do not sweep you away.

And for those of you who are witnesses today, I remind you that this relationship is a picture of the gospel. In marriage we have a man giving all he is and has to a woman who gives all her love in return. It is a living sign of the love that Jesus has for his people in dying for them and rising again to give them new life. The purity of the white of Stephanie's gown is a picture of the clean heart that Jesus creates in all who trust in Him. You cannot walk away from this ceremony without realizing that you have confronted a wonderful reality. There is a God who created marriage for the blessing of human beings. This same God did not walk away from this creation when we sinned against Him. He came into this creation as a man in the person of his Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus lived a perfect human life. Jesus died to sacrifice himself and bear the sins of all who would trust in Him. You are faced with a decision about what you will do with Jesus. He is here now and his mercy is flowing to those who humble themselves, turn from their pride, and vow their love to Him forever. If you have never embraced this Jesus as your husband & Savior, I urge you even now to come to Him.

I remind the two of you before me that, as you have professed to belong to Christ, so now walk with him. The path you walk will be difficult in this world, but with Him it is never lonely. I commit you to his blessing. Amen

Sunday, 20 June 2010 14:55 Written by Bob Flack

Miraculous Affirmation of the Gospel

Hebrews 2 opens with a command to pay closer attention to the gospel message. This message is superior to the law delivered by God accompanied by angels on Mt. Sinai. It came as God humbled himself to become a man. Yet this humble delivery was not without accompanying miracles from the Lord himself and his apostles.

Hebrews 2: 1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Spectacular and miraculous signs always draw attention. So I make a few observations from v. 4 to accompany my sermon based on chapter 2 about worship.

Miracles attest to the message they do not compete with the message.

The gospel is the main thing. Miracles point to the gospel. They validate the power of the gospel. But they are not a substitute for the gospel. Our goal is not that everyone experiences a miracle but that everyone come to faith in Jesus Christ through the gospel.

The miracles here are specifically associated with those who personally heard and saw Jesus.

The apostles exercised a special ministry which included a higher intensity of miraculous activity. This does not mean that miracles ceased when the apostles died off but they were more prevalent in that era.

We in our day have to find a balance point somewhere between the one extreme that puts God in a box (denying that He will perform miracles) and the other extreme that puts God on the spot (demanding that He always performs miracles). We should pray for miracles. Many of us have failed to expect God to work what only He could do. Our services should include prayers that expect God to work miracles without demanding them.

God controls the miraculous.

V. 4 says that He bears witness to the gospel with special miracles. The Holy Spirit gives gifts and distributes them as He wills. It is our responsibility to proclaim the gospel and pray for its success. We trust God to do miracles to attest to the gospel's power.

Miracles do not guarantee a positive response to the gospel.

Jesus did great miracles before the Jews and they rejected Him.

John 10:25-26 … The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.

The greatest miracle in the life of a rebellious sinner is the new birth complete with the gift of faith that takes hold of Christ.