Sing Sing Sing!

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:41:01 -0400

1 Corinthians 14:15

Whatshould I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I
will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also.

When I was in high school, I was in the marching band. I played the trumpet. One of our
best shows was our big band medley.

We played a series of big band hits that the crowd really enjoyed. We really enjoyed
playing these songs, too. The arrangement crescendoed to our finale.

The last number we played was always Benny Goodman’ s Sing Sing Sing!

The trumpet section would always make its way out front and we would just stand there
with our trumpets lifted up to the crowd.

As the song wound its way to the conclusion, the crowd would begin to rise and cheer.

We were in sync with our audience.

We knew they loved what we were doing and so we loved delivering it!

It still gives me chills.

So we are in the middle of a discussion of the three spiritual disciplines Jesus expects.

Almsgiving, prayer and fasting.

We also learned that Jesus did not want us to make a spectacle of ourselves when we did
it, because we are to make God the focus of these actions.

Last week the spotlight was on almsgiving.

This week I want to discuss prayer.

What could Sing Sing Sing have to do with prayer as a spiritual discipline?

It is about a specific kind of prayer.

I want to talk about singing praise to the Lord.

How important is music and singing as we approach God?

Listen to what Martin Luther said about music in church:

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives
away the Devil and makes people joyful; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity,
arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the
greatest honor.”

And that is Biblical.

Our Bible is filled with music!

We see it in the Psalms.

The Psalms are a book of 150 prayers in the form of poetry; poems to be prayed to God.

The Psalms were compiled just before the birth of Christ as a kind of collection of
traditional liturgical prayers used in the Temple, much like our hymnals are used today.

And if you think they have nothing to do with music, note from time to time the musical
cues we see between verses.

And consider that the Hebrew word translated as “ Psalms” means “ songs of praise” .

So singing songs of praise is an ancient form of prayer.

One was our call to worship this morning:

Make a joyfulnoise to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

What a beautiful song of praise!

What a beautiful prayer!

Music and singing has been a part of worship as far back as we can go!

And it still is a part of worship today. In the New Hope worship, we have four or five
praise songs!

In our traditional worship, we have an introit, an opening hymn, the Gloria Patri, an
anthem, an offertory, the Doxology, a closing hymn and a Choral Blessing. Eight
musical chapters in our worship. Eight!

Like the Psalms, our hymns and our musical presentations during worship are intended to
be directed to God.

That is why our music here is different than what I did in the band.

There our music was entertainment for the crowd in the stands.

Our goal was public accolade.

Our reward the cheers of the crowd. But if that is what we want here, that is all we will
get. Worldly acclaim.

If we want heavenly acclaim, we need to address God with our music.

Here the music is for the entertainment and praise of God!

That is why applause at worship is controversial.

Why do we not applaud the Choir, Treva, or Kathy? Why do we not applaud Peg?

Because when we applaud the music because we are entertained, we imply that the
musicians are performing for the public.

When we applaud, we should be applauding the fact that we have had an experience with
God who inhabits the praises of the people.

If we are applauding God, that is worship. And so our reward is heavenly.

God is always surrounded by praise music!

Isaiah describes it like this:

I saiah 6: 1-4

6In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and
… 2Seraphs were in attendance above him … 3And one called to another and said:
‘ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.’

4The Seraphs singing a hymn to God!

In Johns Revelation the Seraphs sing;

Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

And the twenty four elders sing:

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you
created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

And the saints sing:

‘ You are worthy … for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God
saints from* every tribe and language and people and nation; 10

And all inhabitants of heaven sing:

‘ Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!’

Then all creation sings:

‘ To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
for ever and ever!’

Our approach to God must involve singing.

Singing directed to God.

The music should not be a burden.

When I was a kid, we also had a hymn in the middle that was sung after the Old
Testament Lesson and before the New Testament Lesson and the Sermon.

That is rarely done anymore. Also note that we have “ recommended verses” in the
hymnal because no one wants to sing every verse!

And when we do sing, do we believe what we sing?

Or do we sound like Johnny Cash in his biographical movie, Walk the Line.

In an early scene, based on Johnny's first audition for a recording contract, Johnny and
his two band members are in a studio with music executive Sam Phillips.

The song they're auditioning, however, is a common gospel tune that he and his band
perform without emotion or conviction. Part way through, Phillips interrupts:

"Hold on. Hold on. I hate to interrupt, but do you guys got something else? I'm sorry.
I can't market gospel no more. I don't record material that doesn't sell, Mr. Cash, and
gospel like that doesn't sell."

"Well, what's wrong with the way I sing it?" Johnny asks.

Phillips' response is telling: "I don't believe you."

Do we believe what we sing?

As Sax man Charlie Parker once said: If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn.

What does this all have to do with prayer?

In the movie Eddie and the Cruisers, Eddie Wilson and Frank Ridgeway team up to write
the music for this fictional 1960s rock band.

Eddie writes the music, Frank writes the words. Eddie wants the music to be great! And
he knows it cannot be great unless the words and music work together.

As he says to “ Wordman” Frank:

Wordman, we need each other.

Words and music, man- they need each other.

Words and music.

Words and music…

And Paul agrees. Listen again to what he says to the Corinthians:

I will sing praise with the spirit…

Prayer and music.

Prayer and music.

Prayer and music.

Paul is saying that these two things make the prayer spirit filled and we should be lifted
into a higher world, where all creatures look upward and rejoice in God.

When we combine prayer with music we can be like the heavenly hosts praising God and
singing Glory to God in the highest heaven!

And singing praises has another benefit. It gives us words of praise and prayer when our
brains cannot do it.

When we are so overwhelmed with need or gratitude, a good hymn will give you the
words.

Music in worship is also one of God’ s best tools to get the word into our hearts. In a New
York Times article entitled "In One Ear and Out the Other," Natalie Angier examines the
limited power of human memory.

She points out that while we can't quite seem to remember the birthday of a loved one,
we can't quite forget every word of the Gilligan's Island theme song.

Why is that?

It seems that if you add a little music to something, it's more likely to be remembered.
That's how the brain is wired to work.

What does that have to do with prayer?

Without music, some of us might find it difficult to find the words of prayer. But while
we sing, the words, which have power in and of themselves, rise to God and are pleasing
to his ears.

Consider the theologically correct Amazing Grace.

Who here does not know by heart the first verse?

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

That is the Gospel! That is a prayer of thanks to God.

And the hymn that I was singing when I felt the call:

O Lord my God,

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all

The works Thy Hand hath made,

I see the stars,

I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout

The universe displayed;

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art!

How great Thou art!

And then there is the modern praise music, which our own Hidden Talents lift up so well.

My favorite Christian praise music writer Rich Mullins wrote this:

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise you
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise you
And I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

And with those words go the joys and concerns that we each want to give to God.

It all becomes music to his ears!

Music is a powerful tool that allows us to lift our hearts in praise to God.

So what does that have to do with Carnegie Presbyterian Church?

The congregation sings but for the most part we require the services of a Choir, or the
voices of a few gifted vocalists doing solos or duets, trios or quartets.

And we rely on the Music Director to get the music together for the service, while the
pastor gets the rest of the liturgy ready.

Our Sunday objective is to participate in the liturgy in such a manner that we bring
ourselves closer to God, even if just for a moment.

And so because music is so important, we should all participate.

How do we do that?

Sing the hymns with gusto.

Sing in the choir!

Can’ t sing? Think again.

At Southminster, they broadcast the services. Several years ago, they had a retired pastor
helping out by the name of Harold McConnell. One Sunday I was listening to the service
on the radio and nearly had to pull over when they sang the first hymn. Mac, who could
not sing a lick, was positioned right beneath the microphone and he was the only one you
could hear. He was terrible, but he sang with great gusto, and I knew he believed what he
was singing.

And when you sing, you will find that your worship experience is transformed.

You are no longer on the sidelines, you are in the game.

You are no longer an observer; you are a participant in lifting the entire congregation into
the presence of God, even just for a moment.

You are one of those singing praises to God witnessed by John in his Revelation!

We need four new men and four new women to step up and make that commitment.
Eight people and we will have a choir for the next generation.

Our music ministry is essential to the life of this church and we need people to commit to
it.

Give your voice.

Give your voice to the Lord and you will be storing up your treasure in heaven.

And there your heart, and your voice, will be.

And you will feel like I felt when I was blasting my trumpet to the adoring crowd, only
you will not be with the high school band, you will be with the heavenly hosts praising
God!

First Thing Stewardship

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:54:10 -0400

Matthew 6: 1-4; 16-21

6“ Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have
no reward from your Father in heaven. 2“ So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised
by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19“ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where
thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.

There are many references from literature that become part of our cultural perspective. We quote
phrases that support our particular point of view. Pithy sound bites that sum up our opinion about
something. The problem is that we often do not consider the context of the quote when we do
that. We just like the quote.Here is an example. In the Shakespearean play, Henry the VI (Part 2)
there is a line often quoted.

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Nice pithy sound bite that sums up what most people think about lawyers. Get rid of lawyers and things
will be better. But take in the context. The phrase is uttered by the paid murderer Dick the Butcher who
is listening to Jack Cade the leader of a peasant rebellion. Cade says this:

I thank you, good people—there shall be no money; all shall eat
and drink on my score, and I will apparel them all in one livery,
that they may agree like brothers, and worship me their lord.

Today we would call Cade a Maoist. A communist dictator who provides everything for the
people and tells them what to do and demands that he be worshipped. And Dick gives the
memorable line to emphasize the point that in order for Cade to succeed in giving himself all
power, all the lawyers must be killed. Shakespeare, who was no fan of lawyers, actually notes the
fact that lawyers and the law prevent the imposition of tyranny. It is a backhanded compliment.
But few really know that, because they like the better without that insight.

Our scripture reading is kind of like that today.

Jesus is in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount. This mountaintop proclamation is his
revelation of what piety is like in the Kingdom of God. How are we to behave? What are we to
do? What demonstrates our connection to God?

Jesus first describes who the fortunate ones are in the beatitudes. He then tells his disciples that
they are to be salt and light. Next, he contrasts greatest and least in the Kingdom of Heaven, and
spends a good deal of time on how difficult it is to be truly righteous.

And then our scripture reading.

Jesus discusses three spiritual practices that demonstrate a righteous life. What does he say these
things are?

Prayer, fasting and alms. And what about these things?

These three acts are considered obligations by Jesus.

He does not say, “ If you do these things,” Jesus says “ when you do these things” . Prayer, fasting
and alms giving are expected behavior in the Kingdom of God.

His message is also that when we do them, we do them in secret. Jesus is telling the people that
the purpose of these acts is not to impress other people and have them say things like, “ See how
religious he is!” or, “ See how faithful she is!” Jesus says that this is the reward for people who
draw attention to these obligations. Human applause. But those who do these things in secret,
when their acts are known only to God, they receive their reward from the Father.

We need to pay attention to another thing as well. The first duty Jesus talks about is almsgiving.
His number one, the first thing, the primary indication of piety? Almsgiving. Money or other
assistance given to people in need as charity. Charitable donations. Jesus says that this is first.

Charity is the first thing we do to demonstrate our piety to God.

Interesting. Why do we not notice that?

Because, like giving lawyers some amount of credit, we do not want to be reminded of the
requirement that we give out of our finances to charity. We would prefer that charity be an
option. Something we do when we have a few dollars left after everything else is acquired. We
would rather keep it.

There is a joke about that.

A preacher paid a visit to a farmer and asked, "If you had 200 dollars, would you give 100
dollars to the Lord?

"Sure would," said the farmer.

"If you had two cows, would you give one cow to the Lord?"

"Yeah, I would."

"If you had two pigs, would you give one of them to the Lord?"

The farmer replied, "That's not fair. You know I have two pigs."

But Jesus has a word about that, too. He suggests that our heart will be where we keep our
treasure. If we keep out treasure here in the world, that is where our heart will be. Kind of like
seeking the accolades of other people when giving, praying and fasting. If that is what we want,
that is what we will get, and no more. If we keep our assets here, that is where we will remain,
here. If we keep our treasure in heaven, that is where our heart will be. Like keeping our piety to
ourselves. God, to whom it is supposed to be directed, will know of it and reward it.

So when we commit our assets to the work of the kingdom that is where we will end up. So we
must each ask ourselves where we want our heart to be. We want our hearts to be in heaven!
What do we do? Jesus is saying that giving to charity is a Godly act and is a way of storing up
treasure in heaven. Jesus says give and your heart will go where you give!
In the September issue of Presbyterians Today, the cover story asks the question, “ Why we
give.” The author, Karl Travis, says this:

It’s not because God needs the money – it’ s because giving helps us grow as Christians.

Travis reminds us that in our scripture reading this morning, giving is identified by Jesus as
a spiritual discipline. Charitable giving is a spiritual discipline? Most of us think of spiritual
disciplines as praying, Bible study, meditation, singing … that sort of thing. The things we do
that deepen our awareness of God’ s presence in our lives. Or the things we do that open us up to

God’ s guidance. The things that make us mature Christians.

Financial generosity is rarely if ever included by us. But Jesus says it is a spiritual discipline and
talks about it first!Why? I like the way Travis describes it. Our hearts follow our dollars. Jesus
says, where our treasure is, that is where our hearts will be. Dollars first, then our hearts.

It is like an investment. You invest your money and then you watch the investment doing all that
is necessary to assure it produces. Charities are like that. We donate to charities and then we get
involved to make sure the money is spent well.

Sometimes we care about something then give toward it. But when we do that we tend to give
only when we believe we have enough to do so. But so we ever have enough? Are we ever so
financially secure as to believe we can give generously? Do we wait until we have paid all the
bills and bought all the fun stuff to decide if we are going to give generously?

Jesus teaches that we are to trust that what God has already provided is enough for us to give
generously. Trust in God first by generously giving and we will grow closer to God. Our hearts
follow the dollars.

I have a particular image of this. In the Old Testament there are frequent references to burnt
offerings. People would bring gifts to the priests, usually some type of animal, which would
be sacrificed and burned. Prior to the sacrifice, what the person wanted to say to God and what
the person needed from God was instilled in the animal. As the fire consumed the sacrifice, the
smoke from the fire would rise up to the sky and dissipate. This smoke, in my mind, was like
the prayer symbolized by the sacrifice. The prayers going to God. The aroma, like praise, was
said to be pleasing to God. [This is my personal image, and I do not know if this is what was the
theology of the Israelites.]

So what does that have to do with giving?

Our dollars should lead us like the smoke of the burnt offering into the presence of God. Like the
smoke, we should have an image of our dollars going to God and pleasing him. Which means
that we had better see some God pleasing results from what we give right? We should be giving
to an organization that assures us that the money is used for a Godly purpose and is effective.
We should see the results like the smoke from a burnt offering.And as we do that, our hearts will
grow closer to God.

What does that mean to us here at CPC?

We , your Session and I want this to be your charity. But you should ask, what do we use the
money for? What is the purpose of this CPC charity? Where is the smoke rising up and pleasing
God?

Let’ s take a look at a few of our more active committees.

Mission: This committee is responsible for the delivery of charitable giving to Missionaries
in Ethiopia and Mexico. It is also responsible for the CPC Community Chest which ministers
to members of this congregation. It also organizes and funds backpacks for kids, meals for the
men’ s shelter on the North Side, IHN, PCUSA designated missions, among others.

CE and Youth: This committee organizes Sunday School for all ages, youth group, youth
camping and mission activities, Confirmation and other youth related activities. This committee
puts n VBS and Parents’ Night Out.

Building: This committee cares for the physical structure and grounds of the church where most
of the activities and the organization of activities take place. It allows us to be warm in winter,
cool in summer and to make our church presence a comfortable one. It is where we come for our
corporate worship.

Membership and evangelism: This committee allows us to gather as a body of Christians for
fellowship and mutual support. It provides a means of joyful gathering in the name of Jesus
Christ. This committee also assists new members in integrating themselves into the congregation.

Worship: This committee oversees the act of worship here at CPC. It purchases the communion
implements and any other worship supplies. It organizes the worship seasons and the seasonal
Bible Study opportunities. This committee supervises the church’ s music ministry as well. It is
the committee that presents our sacraments and delivers the Word of God.

Deacons: This board ministers to the members of the congregation by sending cards and flowers
and goody bags to shut ins, preparing and serving bereavement luncheons, assists in serving
communion to shut ins, and keeping track of the needs of the individual congregants.

These committees all require funding to carry out their purposes, which in the broader sense
constitute the mission of this congregation, church, charity.

These activities are the smoke rising to God. And we want to make more! But we need
resources. We need for everyone in the congregation to give alms to this charity so we can build
bigger fires and send more pleasing smoke up to God.

Donate your charitable dollars to this church and we will put them to use in these types of things.

But almost all of you here could say, “ But I already give. What more can I do?”

Listen to this story about discovering how God has already provided..

Author Tony Campolo tells how he was scheduled to speak to a group of women at a World Day
of Prayer event. Before calling him to speak, the leader of the meeting produced a letter from a
missionary in Venezuela. Campolo describes what happened next:

She read this letter from this missionary who had a hospital, and they needed $5,000 desperately
to put an extension on the hospital because they couldn't handle all the patients. She turned to
me, and she said, "Reverend, would you please lead us in prayer that the Lord would provide for
our sister in Venezuela?" And I said, "No!" She was surprised by that. I stood up, and I said, "I'll
tell you what I will do.” I pulled out my wallet, and I pulled out all the money I had, which was
not much, but it was all I had at the time. I slapped it down on the pulpit and I said, "That’ s all
the money I'm carrying. Madame Chairman, I want you to put all the cash you're carrying on the
pulpit." And there were about 1,000 women in this group. I said, "I'm going to ask each of you
to do the same. No checks. Just the cash you're carrying. Bring it up. Lay it down. We'll count
up the money, and if we don't have enough, I will then ask God for the difference." The woman
took out $110 of unadulterated cash and put it with my small few dollars. I said, "We're on our
way." I said, "You're next," and I pointed to a woman on the front row. And she sheepishly came
up and put her money on it, and I said, "Okay let's line up and do it one by one." And they did it!
Money kept on piling up and piling up and piling up. When it was all over, we counted the cash.
And we had over $7,000, instead of the five that was being required! And I know we didn't get it
all because I could see women giving me dirty looks as they walked by. And I said, "The sheer
audacity of asking God for $5,000, when God has already provided more than $7,000."

God has already provided!

And we demonstrated this with the offering to the Tapestries of Life.

There is no other time for giving but now.

It is stewardship season. We will be distributing and collecting pledge cards on November 21.

Consecration Sunday. That will be the day of our burnt offering. How much will you add to the
fire?

That will be the day we can all begin our financial spiritual discipline. We will send up our
donations to God and he will be pleased.

And when you do, you will be storing up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. And where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also. Your heart will be nearer to God. AMEN

Do Not Be Ashamed!

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 21:51:22 -0400

2 Timothy 1:8-14

8Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but
join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9who saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11For this
gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,* 12and for this reason I
suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and
I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.* 13Hold to
the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that
are in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy
Spirit living in us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian who spoke truth to power. He was one of the authors
of the Barmen Declaration that challenged the authority of Hitler’ s National Christian
Church. That declaration is one of our Confessions of Faith. Bonhoeffer was ultimately
imprisoned for his defiance against Hitler and spent the remaining two years of his life in
prison. He was hung three weeks before the end of the war.

Bonhoeffer was led away just as he concluded his final Sunday service and asked an
English prisoner to remember him to Bishop George Bell of Chichester if he should ever
reach his home: His message? "This is for me the beginning of life." This was a man who
was not ashamed of the Gospel.

Paul was doing something similar in this letter to Timothy. Paul was nearing the end
of his life. He was telling Timothy about how a herald, apostle and teacher of the Good
News of Jesus Christ was to act in the face of opposition.

Stand up for what you believe.

Do not be afraid to proclaim your faith.

Rely on God and the salvation he had provided through Jesus Christ.

And never back down.

Never be ashamed of who you are.

Never deny whose you are.

Bonheoffer and Paul were lions of the faith. Both were beaten, starved, imprisoned, and
debased. Both died for the Gospel.

Yet both looked to God as their hope and went to their deaths with trust in their hearts.

Inspiring, yes? It is to me!

But an easy example to follow? Hardly.

When I was a boy, we always watched football on Sundays. Go to church, go home, turn
on the TV and watch football. After the game, my friends and I would go out and play
football. We would pretend to be some pro player we just saw.

Terry Bradshaw. Lynn Swan. Franco Harris. Jack Lambert. Mean Joe Green.

Then we would start to play.

The problem was that we were not any of these people. We were just a bunch of kids. We
could not make those miracle catches. We could not make those precise passes. We could
not run over people to get to the ball carrier. We were not particularly intimidating and
were not

What we were inspired by, and wanted to be, was the best of the best.

But we were just us. We were who we were. Not particularly inspiring.

It is the same with our faith.

We want to be like the great lions of the faith but become overwhelmed by the heroic
stories and then feel like we can never measure up.

Are we faithful enough to stand up for what we believe in the face of opposition?

Are we ready to live our faith in public when there are so many who look down on us?

Have you ever been confronted by someone who looks down on you for some reason?

When I first became a lawyer, I was amazed at how people reacted when I told them
I was a lawyer. There were the inevitable jokes, put downs and questions about eye-
popping unjustifiable court outcomes. Then I became a minister.

Now the question I get is “ Wow, that must be a real change in perspective, huh?” After
a while, I almost wanted to avoid the question. It is almost like the people want me to
admit that I am ashamed of being a lawyer.

Am I ashamed? Not a bit. And if someone would like listen to why I believe the practice
of law is still an honorable and noble profession, I can tell them.

We know what it is like to stand up for something. We are more than willing to stand
up for our beloved Steelers. I imagine that if someone showed up here this morning in a
Ravens shirt, the passing of the peace might not be so peaceful.

But will we be as lionhearted for Jesus Christ?

What would it look like for someone to be ashamed of their faith?

Have you ever had someone look down on you because you go to church? Because you
do not join in the festivities of our culture that or faith discourages? I have.

I have heard that from other lawyers who kind of smile at me when we see each other and
say, “ So how are things at the church? What possessed you to do that?”

We all have. But can we then tell that person, if they are willing to listen, why we do
what we do?

In the movie “ The American President” Michael Douglas plays the president who is
running for re-election. His opponent makes a big deal about the President’ s membership
in the ACLU. At first, he just ignores the taunt. Perhaps a bit ashamed and worried that
people might look down on him for that. Then he changes his course, standing up for
what he believes and says this.

For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this
country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to
engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you
without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the
record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question
is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend
the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's
most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the
Constitution?

If we apply that message to us, we might ask that if we are an organization devoted to the
sole purpose of telling people the good news of Jesus Christ, when folks ask us why we
go to church, shouldn’ t or response be “ Why don’ t you?”

But to do something like that, you have to be prepared. You have to know something
about what you believe.

Do we?

This week there was an article that summarized a study on how much people knew about
their faith. What’ s the first book of the Bible? How about the first four books of the New
Testament?

Americans who can answer those questions are, believe it or not, relatively rare. And that
is true mainly among Christians.

Academics call it the Religion Congruence Fallacy: In survey after survey, year after
year, Americans who say they belong to a particular religious tradition, including
Christianity, tend not to act like it. And they do not act like it because they do not know
what their faith actually asks of them.

They are talking about us! What do we know about our faith? If we do not know enough,
how can we pass it along? If we cannot pass it along, how can we do what Paul is
telling us to do? If we do not know what we stand for, is it because we are disinterested?
Ashamed? Afraid?

When Paul is telling Timothy not to be ashamed when presenting the Gospel message, he
is assuming that Timothy knows what it is and what to say!

Should Paul make that same assumption with us today?

Probably not.

I submit we know more about the Steelers than we know about the Bible, what it really
says and what it really means. We became complacent in our generation. We all went to
church and nearly all went to Christian churches. No one asked us why we go tot church,
everybody did.

But not so any more. Most people do not go to church and those that do are not all
Christian. What do we say to them when they ask us why we go to a Christian church? It
makes you wonder if we know enough to say anything meaningful.

But does this lack of “ knowledge” prevent us from following in the footsteps of Paul,
Timothy or Bonhoeffer?

Surprisingly not.

To stand up for Christ does not require a degree in theology or years in Bible school. You
do not need to know all the answers, but you do have to know how your faith has affected
your life.

It also requires a bit of intestinal fortitude.

It might look like this.

I heard a story about someone who was living in New York. He was in the production
crew of a Broadway musical. One Saturday after the show, he was with the crew relaxing
at a local establishment when he said he was going home. One of his friends asked him
why he was leaving so early and he said he was going to church the next day. The fellow
asked him if he went to church every Sunday, When he said he tried to, the fellow asked
why? He then said jokingly, “ What have you done that you need to go to church?” His
response? “ I am not going to church because of what I have done, but because of what
was done for me!” He then told the fellow that he went to worship a God that sacrificed
his son so that he could live.

I wonder if I could have done that. Could I have looked someone in the eye and testified
about my faith when I was being mocked? When someone is making fun of what you
think, how do we generally react?

We want to be Jack Lambert, with that little trickle of blood on his chin, but we’ re really
just us!

To speak truth to someone who is challenging your faith is as difficult as speaking it to
someone wielding a sword.

Trying to speak the truth of God can be a terrifying thing.

What do we say? What if you get it wrong? What if you cannot find the right words?

So how do we make sure we can do such a thing?

Rely on God.

That is the difficulty we preachers deal with every week. So, before our sermon we pray
a prayer. It is officially called the prayer of illumination. It is basically a prayer that the
Holy Spirit will stand between us and translate my words into God’ s words and then
make them mean something significant to each one of you. And it works. Each one here
will take a different lesson from this message today. It is the message God wants you to
hear, if you will listen.

That is part of what Paul is telling Timothy. Stand up for Christ. Rely on God.

So I want you to think about those things today when you take the bread and the cup.
When Christ went to the cross, he was not ashamed of us.

He came to rescue us from our shame.

He stood up for us and did not back down.

He spoke truth to power and he spoke truth to us.

We must be prepared to do the same for him. AMEN

Are You Content?

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:13:17 -0400

In 2003 I was a leader on a youth mission trip to Agua Prieta, Mexico. Seventy five
adults and high school students went there to learn about the Presbyterian Church in
Mexico, and to assist the local churches in reaching out into the community. We did
this by offering a Vacation Bible School program for the children in the community.
We printed up invitations and went into the neighborhoods. We were told that all the
community children would want to come. And they did. We put on puppet shows,
did crafts, played games, and taught Bible lessons. The kids, ours and theirs, loved it.

After dinner each evening, we would gather in small groups and talk about what we
experienced each day. On the first day, some of the kids in my group seemed to be
particularly upset. They could not believe the “poverty” in Agua Prieta. These people
had “nothing”. The kids in my group were crying. How can people live like this? Their
lives must be so awful!

I pointed out to them what had happened that day. These so called “poverty stricken”
children had had a great time. They were laughing, playing and screaming with pleasure.
Their parents were watching and talking with us about nothing in particular, inviting
us into their homes and offering us food and drinks. When the event ended for the day,
the kids waved good bye and skipped off to their homes to be with their families. An
afternoon picnic.

So I asked them, “Why are you crying?” They thought these children of Agua Prieta must
be unhappy because they did not have all the stuff our kids had back home. There was no
mall. There were no cars. There was no television. There were no computers. There were
no IPODS. There were none of the things our kids thought they needed to be happy! How
could their lives be fulfilled without all this stuff?

But I told them that these children were happily remembering their big day,
probably telling their friends to come the next day. (Which did happen.)
The lesson I tried to teach that week became this: The Mexican kids were happy
regardless of what they had. The American kids were unhappy because they had too
much. The Mexican children were content with what they had. Our kids always wanted
more. And when I 1 Timothy, 6: 6-19, I realized that at least for me, those Mexican
children taught me something. It was the same thing Paul was saying to Timothy.
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7for we brought
nothing into the world, so that* we can take nothing out of it; 8but if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with these.

What does it take for us to be content? Paul teaches Timothy that contentment means
reliance on God, and his salvation through Jesus Christ. All we need beyond that in this
world is food and clothing. With those things we should be content.
This is what the Greek stoics taught. And the lesson was refined by Epicurus who
said: “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.” His recipe for happiness? “Add
not to a man’s possessions, but take away from his desires.”

The power at my house was out recently. It was off Friday evening and into Saturday.
We were told it might not be until Tuesday we get it back. So I bought a camp lantern
for the house so we would not be in the dark. As soon as I got it on, the power came back
on. But when I went to turn on the TV later, the cable was off. And I got mad. This is
what Paul and Epicurus are talking about. To me the return of power was not enough, is I
wondered, whether anything was enough.

Paul tells us that all we need is God, and the necessities of life, such as food and clothing.
Most would add a roof over our heads.
But there is more to the lesson. To get food clothing and housing, we need to work.
And some of us work in occupations that generate a good deal of wealth. Paul does not
criticize such people, but he does issue a warning.But Paul warns us to be careful. Paul
warns us that financial security, wealth, can become greed.

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and
harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a
root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from
the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

This passage is the source of the old adage: Money is the root of all evil. But that is a
mistranslation of what Paul says. Paul says that the desire to be rich over everything else
is the worship of money, and it is the worship of money that is the root of all evil. Money

becomes an idol, replacing the contentment offered by Jesus Christ. Money becomes our
religion and fills the spot that should be occupied by God.
James Bryan Smith in his book The Good and Beautiful Life reports this.
Neurologists [once] scanned the brains of people of faith as they recalled and re-
experienced the times they felt close to God, either in prayer, worship, or solitude. Then
they exposed the same people to stained glass, the smell of incense, icons, and other
religious images that connected people to God. The same specific area of the brain
(called the caudate nucleus) lit up in all of these people when they felt connected to God.
The caudate nucleus is not a "God spot," just the part of our brain that is activated when
we feel connected to the divine.

It gets even more interesting. The neurologists similarly tested another group, but this
time exposed them to material possessions. When they showed images of products that
were tied to "cool" brands, the exact same area of the brain lit up. The neuroscientists
discovered that people who bought certain items experienced the same sensations as
those who had deep religious experiences.

It is likely we have all experienced this. I know I have. When the going gets tough … the
tough go shopping, right? Everyone loves that new car smell. I bet that lights up that spot
in the brain.

Paul knew what he was talking about. But Paul knew something else.… we brought
nothing into the world, so that* we can take nothing out of it … Naked at birth, naked at
death. We take nothing with us … nothing. So what does Paul tell us to do with what we
have, while we have it?

He has a message for the rich:

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set
their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous,
and ready to share, 19thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for
the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

And some have heard that message.

Bill Gates is the second richest man in the world. He was a billionaire at age 31. Seven
years later, he began to give much of his wealth to charity. Gates studied the work of
Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller and in 1994 sold some of his Microsoft stock
to create the William H. Gates Foundation. In 2000, Gates and his wife combined three
family foundations into one to create the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
which is the largest transparently operated charitable foundation in the world.

There is a push today by Gates and Warren Buffet for people with great wealth to do
great things with it. It is even the subject of a Doonesbury comic strip series. The strip
lampoons those who would rather hoard their excess wealth than use if for the good of
the community. To those, having is more important than giving.

But not for Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gates, Buffet. I do not know if any of these guys read
1 Timothy, but they acted like they did.
So what does that mean for us at CPC? Perhaps we should live our lives as Paul tells
the rich folk: Take hold of the life that really is life. Do good, … be rich in good works,
generous, and ready to share. How? Can we be like Gates, Buffet, Carnegie, and
Rockefeller? I doubt anyone here can do so financially. But what we can do is encourage
the biblical philosophy these rich people have promoted.

Here is one example of how that might work.

Like many American Christians, Keith Taylor has benefited from the generosity of other
people. For example, while Keith was attending graduate school in Tennessee, his car
broke down, and the subsequent repair bill caused him to be short on his rent that month.
His boss at his part-time job paid the rent bill in full—a gift, not a loan.

Keith was reflecting on the kindness of his boss, and on the other acts of generosity
that had contributed to his life. Keith decided that he would one day dedicate his life
to helping others. "When I'm really rich, I'm going to start an organization to help the
working poor."

“But then It occurred to me all of a sudden," Keith says, "that no one who had ever
helped me had been wealthy. They had just been nice. They'd just had compassion." And
that's when Keith Taylor began to act.

Keith decided he would try to help one person each month get through some kind of
financial crisis, and he set aside $350 to get started. He also set up a very basic website
that invited requests for assistance. But when that site was featured on a popular blog, he
received 1,100 emails the next day—most were from people requesting assistance, but a
surprising amount were from people who wanted to help.

A short time later, Keith incorporated a nonprofit organization called Modest Needs.
The organization's first official grant saved a woman's life—she received money for a
mammogram that discovered a tumor—and it has been gaining steam ever since. Now
fronted by a popular website, www.modestneeds.org, Taylor's organization gave away
almost $2.5 million in grants in 2009. "Every day is another miracle," Taylor says. "It's
beyond my imagination."

And we can all sit there and say the same thing. It is beyond our imagination. It is
unbelievable. But rather than saying how could he do that, we should be saying how will
we do that?

We have already done things like that here at CPC, but only inside this congregation. We
have done it with our CPC Community Chest. Why not make CPC Community Chest a
bigger program? Why not expand it? Why not do what Keith did and open it up to more
people locally? Regionally? Nationally?

How? Tell people you know what we are doing and tell them we want to do more. We
are not here to spend the money people give is to pay our electric bill; we are using the
money given to us to fill the needs of others who come to us for help. Financially and
spiritually. Teach them that they should do as Paul says, and share the wealth they will
ultimately leave behind.

One more exciting thing about Modest Needs is that almost 70 percent of individuals who
receive money from grants end up donating money back to the organization sometime
later.

We might not be Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet but we can have what they have. We
can have the satisfaction of leaving a legacy behind us as CPC, a caring and serving
community of devoted believers in Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit and sharing the
good news of God’s love.

Let’s light up that spot in our brains by helping the lives of others, and helping others
help the lives of others, in the name of Jesus Christ.