Getting Cultured!

Romans 12:1-2

(sermon outline for September 27)

God wants you to be a positive force for faith and service within your culture.

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:2 MSG

• What is culture?

• What are negative ways that culture can influence your life?

• What are positive ways that you can impact and shape your culture?

To bring out the best in your culture, bring your best to your culture. To bring your best to your culture, bring your best to the Lord.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Romans 12:1 MSG

Spiritual Jet Lag: Adjusting to Changing Times

Hebrews 13:8

^{(sermon outline for Wednesday Sept. 16)}

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 NIV

For Jesus doesn't change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself. Hebrews 13:8 MSG

Introduction:

1. Just as jet lag occurs when you cross time zones, spiritual jet lag can occur during changing times.

2. Jet lag (definition): medically referred to as "desynchronosis" is a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to circadian rhythms. Jet lag results from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east-west or west-east) travel, as on a jet plane. (wikipedia)

3. Common symptoms of jet lag include headache, disorientation, fatigue, grogginess, and irritability. It occurs to me that the same symptoms take place in spiritual jet lag, especially irritability.

Outline:

1. Spiritual jet lag occurs when there is a distance between the cultural time in which a Christian lives and the cultural time in which a Christian wishes, believes, or pretends to live.

2. What are some examples of the kinds of changes that can cause a lag time?

Socially, culturally, technologically:

• Automotive: Straight shift transmission to manual transmission.
• Music: phonograph to 8 track to cassette to cd to I Tunes or I Pod.
• Television: antenna to cable, or analog to digital.
• Movies: Reel to videocassette to dvd to blueray.
• Measurements: …to metric, Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Spiritually or ecclesially (church):

• Bible translations: KJV to NIV to Message.
• Denomination: One mission partner to multiple mission partners.
• Worship style: Traditional to blended to contemporary to emergent or contemplative.
• Newsletter: Black/white to color print, hard copy to e-copy.
• Invitation to commitment: Public, spontaneous response to private counsel and orientation.

3. For the church the method is constantly changing but the message doesn’t change.

The Bible says that Christ is the same, but it never says or suggests that the church is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

4. What are some things that may help us overcome our lag time?

• Avoid becoming an opponent of any notion of change.
• Seek to discover the purpose of proposed or enacted change.
• Ask yourself whether the change violates your conviction or just your comfort zone.
• Find positive ways to empower the change.
• As you adjust to changes, make it a habit to help others adjust. A person who struggles with change may be able to better empathize with others who struggle even more to adjust to change.

5. What are examples of changes we should expect in the future that could create a lag time as we adjust?

Socially, culturally, and technologically:

• A continued proliferation of information and communication technology.
• A new economic norm that requires a more thoughtful stewardship.
• A longer life span and a later retirement age.
• A revised menu of health care options and expectations.
• An expanding menu of social, cultural, and recreational opportunities that will require us to sharpen our time management and decision-making skills.

Spiritually and ecclesially:

• That we continue to upgrade the way we provide our invitation to the Christian life and church membership, perhaps even requiring New Christian orientation before baptism and New Church Member orientation before affirming a membership application.
• That we continue to upgrade the assignments, job descriptions and nomenclature for ministry teams, deacons, and staff ministers.
• That we periodically evaluate and upgrade our schedule so that we maximize our opportunities for worship, Bible study, and ministry.
• That we deepen our understanding of church as a community where we are served a generous portion of God’s grace so that we may in turn serve others in Jesus’ name.

Conclusion:

What is the remedy for jet lag? Doctors agree that there is no pill or pharmaceutical remedy. Most recommend two things: 1) Allow yourself a gradual adjustment period. 2) Light therapy (Daylight followed by low-level light throughout the night helps during the adjustment period.)

Perhaps the same remedies work for spiritual jet lag. Maybe we need to allow ourselves a gradual time of adjustment so that we are not overwhelmed. And maybe the kind of light therapy we need is that found in I John 1:7 NIV: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Faith and the Seasons of Life

As a part of our series, Seize the Opportunity!, we are talking a lot about time, seasons, and opportunities. Last Sunday we focused on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, that contemplative poem about the seasons of life. Rather than letting the seasons of life pass and become “vanity,” the biblical writer encourages worshipers to interpret the seasons and maximize the opportunities within each one of them.

In my own time of reflection, I think about the seasons many of us are experiencing right now. Like in ancient times, it is still true that, There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth: Ecclesiastes 3:1 MSG.

Actually life in the 21^st century may have even more numerous seasons, and the changing of the seasons come more abruptly, if not concurrently. Perhaps if the poem were being written today, some of the seasons included would remarkably resemble the season you are in right now:

A time to celebrate and a time to lament,

A time to be single and a time to be married,

A time to keep your job and a time to transition,

A time to pray for healing and a time for comfort care,

A time of feasting and a time of famine,

A time to be gentle and a time to be firm,

A time of grief and a time of joy,

A time to be independent and a time to seek assistance.

A time to spend and a time to save.

A time to think it through on your own and a time to seek the counsel of others,

A time to plan and a time to implement,

A time to worship and a time to serve,

A time to be patient and a time to be aggressive,

A time to wait and a time to wait no longer,

A time to think and a time to feel,

A time to consider options and a time to make a decision.

A time to lead and a time to be led.

-A personal reflection on Ecclesiastes 3

I can hardly read Ecclesiastes 3 without thinking about Romans 8:28 which reminds us that, In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (MSG).

Knowing that God is with us through all the seasons of life helps us to confront our challenges and seize our opportunities with courage and confidence.

This Sunday we will focus on Hebrews 9:27 and think about the life implications of, If I Should Die Before I Wake, a sobering call to make the most of the opportunities God sends our way.

I look forward to seeing you as we gather for an encouraging time of worship and Bible study.

Hot off the Press!

Our August Financial Report is in and we have had another solid month of giving to missions and ministries through First Baptist Church. After a few months of shortfall, our congregation has responded with strength and vitality in July and August to position us for a great year. Your faithful and consistent giving empowers and energizes our ministries of worship, discipleship, outreach, and missions.

The past 12-18 months our nation and our community have been in a season of economic uncertainty. Now as we are entering a season of economic stabilization and re-building, it is important for us to prioritize and practice God’s economic values so that we do repeat the mistakes of the past. When we practice the discipline of Christian stewardship, we put our homes and our church on a stable financial foundation, and we contribute toward the fiscal integrity of our community and our nation.

This week we continue our series Seize the Opportunity! as we look at Ecclesiastes 3 and think about “Learning to Tell Time” God’s way. We will celebrate baptism at the beginning of our Mid-morning Worship Service. Also, this Sunday morning in each service we will have an opportunity to affirm our support for our Ministry Action Budget for 2010.

Blessings and opportunities abound at First Baptist Church! Don’t forget the following….

Sept 13 Leadership Workshop with Josh Hunt

Sept 20 Churchwide Community Prayer Walk

Sept 27 Annual Church Picnic

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we gather for worship and Bible study.

Making an Impact!

How are you making an impact in our community, in your home, in your workplace, and in our schools?

Our First Baptist Family seems to be experiencing a growing awareness of the many ways we can make a positive impact in lives of others, simply by following the teachings and example of Jesus on a daily basis.

Last November, I shared my vision of what I see happening and where I sense the Spirit leading us as a family of faith. These were the highlights:

• Claim our community as our primary mission field (especially the 32501 area).
• Meet less, minister more.
• Upgrade our model of organization.
• Match spiritual gifts to ministry opportunities.
• Mentor the next generation.

Last Sunday I proposed four ways that we can continue to unpack this vision as we use our best gifts to serve others in Jesus’ name:

• Impact our community: Partner with local agencies and ministries to make our community a better place.
• Integrate faith in our homes: Customize our homes to be centers for personal growth, faith development, and hospitality.
• Influence the work place: Be authentic witnesses in the workplace and marketplace, consistently practicing the ethics and values of Jesus.
• Get involved in our schools: Pray, volunteer, and get involved, especially in our adopted school, Allie Yniestra Elementary.

To fully embrace our vision, it is important that we stay connected, regularly gathering on campus for Bible study, worship, and encouragement, and then going into our community to make an impact.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we begin our series, Seize the Opportunity!