Articles

Marcus the Therapist

QuillJohn McKeel

 

Marcus the Therapist sat down with Simon the Zealot. Simon was honing his short sword with a stone, then testing its edge by shaving off the hairs on the back of his arm. “Simon, you seem to be a little upset right now.”

Simon rubbed his thumb along the blade drawing a bead of blood as he looked up. He clenched his teeth, narrowed his eyes and spat, “Right about that!”

“Would you like to talk about it?” Marcus asked.

Simon drew a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Do you think it would help?” he asked.

Marcus smiled knowingly. “It just might.”

“Well,” the Zealot began, “those pansy priests are taking advantage of the poor pilgrims” he said. Marcus cringed at the word “pansy” but nodded and said, “Hmm. Go on.”

“Ya see, the pilgrims walk for hundreds of miles to worship in the Temple,” the crusty Simon observed. “Some of them are leading or carrying precious little lambs they have raised themselves.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “How will we ever mature as a race if these bloody sacrifices continue?” he thought to himself.

“Well, think about it, Doc. The people love those little lambs, but they hate their sins. They are consumed by guilt …” At the word “guilt” Marcus perked up. “That precious lamb will be their sacrifice to atone for their sins. Can you imagine?” he asked.

Marcus shuddered. He could hardly believe this was the first century! Hadn’t mankind progressed past such barbarity? “Continue,” the therapist nodded.

“When the poor pilgrim and his lamb get to the temple, the bleeding priest looks at the pilgrim’s sacrifice, shakes his head and points to some so-called ‘blemish’ on the little lamb. The sacrifice isn’t good enough. It’s never good enough. Then the priest points the pilgrim to one of the official lamb dealers where he can buy a ‘pre-approved’ lamb – mangy beasts,” Simon spat. “Naturally the priests are getting a kick back on the deal, but that’s not all!” Simon stood up gripping his razor-sharp sword. “The pilgrim can’t even use his own money – it being tainted foreign money and all. He has to exchange it – at a fee – for so-called Temple money. Only it ain’t even real Temple money. It’s a Tyrian shekel it is!” The Zealot raised his sword in holy anger. “I could just run somebody through!”

Marcus took a deep breath. “I see,” the therapist began. “Why don’t you sit back down and breathe deeply for a moment. That’s right. Try breathing in slowly and letting it out in one big exhale.”

With Simon sitting down again, Marcus continued. “Life’s not fair Simon,” he started. “Sometimes things don’t always go the way we think they should. That’s no excuse though for your losing your temper. You have a choice. You can choose to become angry and lash out and hurt others, or you can be in control. By not reacting to other people’s choices, you are really winning! Doesn’t that feel better?”

Marcus looked down at his sundial. “Well Simon, I think you’ve made good progress today.” He stood up, looked out the window and wondered, “Who is that Galilean with a whip over at the Temple?”

Moral: There is a time to become angry, but listen closely to the sermon this morning to understand the difference between righteous indignation and unholy wrath.

Envy

PEWSLAG – The Seven Deadly Sins

Sunday Morning Sermon
September 17, 2017
1 Samuel 18:6 – 9
John McKeel

Envy will Eat You Up

“Envy is the desire to have what another person has,” Tony Campolo. It is not simply a longing to have the same kind of thing the other person has; the envious person wants to strip another of something in order to possess it completely and solely (Proverbs 14:30).

Do you remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)?

The Problem with Envy

“Love does not envy or boast,” 1 Corinthians 13:4

Envy is a pervasive sin.

“A convincing case can be made that the entire free enterprise system is fueled by envy,” – Henry Stein, Ethics (and Other Liabilities), 1982

“We worship success but we really don’t like the successful. We are envious of them,” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Envy Expressed

  1. Envy expresses itself in all walks of life.
    • Children want other children to envy their toys.
    • Adults engage in “conspicuous consumption.”
    • People marry a “trophy spouse.”
    • The desire for envy often leads to overspending and consequent marital conflict. (Disagreements over money is the most often cited cause for divorce.)
  2. Envy is a major cause of unhappiness and self-contempt.
    • The man who covets another man’s wife becomes discontented with his own.
    • The student who envies another’s grades underestimates his own abilities.
    • The woman who envies another woman’s appearance becomes a supporter of a cultural system that diminishes her own value and encourages her own unhappiness.
    • Envy diminishes people’s enjoyment of life because they cannot be content with what they have.

 Overcoming Envy

  1. The root of envy is doubting God. We need to understand, God wills the very best for you!
    • We may think we need something else but God knows what we really need!
    • Why did Cain kill Abel? Envy!
  2. Consider Moses (Numbers 11:16 – 30) or John the Baptist: “He must increase …” (John 3:30).

Wisdom conquers envy.

  1. Other people have made different choices than you, but that doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice.
  2. Perhaps, there is something in your own life that needs to change.
  3. Understand what truly makes you happy.
  4. Know that there are different seasons of life.
  5. Take a “reality check.”
  6. Ask if you are using technology wisely.
  7. Cultivate an “attitude of gratitude.”

Pride

PEWSLAG – The Seven Deadly Sins

Sunday Morning Sermon
September 10, 2017
Matthew 23:1 – 12
John McKeel

Arrogance v. Excellence

Savanarola, the great Florentine preacher of the fifteenth century, one day saw an elderly woman worshiping at the statue of Mary which stood in his city’s great cathedral. On the following day, he noticed the same woman again on her knees before the [statue]. With great interest, Savanarola observed that day after day, she came and did homage before the statue.
“Look how she reverences the [statue of Mary],” Savanarola whispered to one of his fellow priests.
“Don’t be deceived by what you see,” the priest responded. “Many years ago an artist was commissioned to create a statue for the cathedral. As he sought a young woman to pose as the model for his sculpture, he found one who seemed to be the perfect subject. She was young, serenely lovely and had a mystical quality in her face. The image of that young woman inspired his statue of Mary. The woman who now worships the statue is the same one who served as its model years ago. Shortly after the statue was put in place, she began to visit it and has continued to worship there religiously ever since.”                                                              —Tony Campolo, 7 Deadly Sins, p. 74

We teach our children to be proud meaning we want them to strive for excellence, but there is a sinful pride that is at the root of many sins. Sinful pride is arrogant. It is the sin of exalting oneself and placing one’s own interests above those of others. Pride craves admiration and even adoration, and will not share the limelight. Rather, Christians should:

“…give preference to one another in honor,” (Romans 12:10).

“…whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave,” (Matthew 20:26, 27).

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips,” (Proverbs 27:2).

The Problem with Pride

  1. Pride is a primary barrier to salvation. It makes it difficult for people to accept grace, 2 Kings 5:1-14.
  2. Pride infects Christians in a variety of ways that can spoil their commitment to Christ.
    • “Look at what I have done!”
    • Matthew 6:1-18
  3. Pride mars many ministries.
  4. Pride keeps us from knowing the truth about ourselves.
    • A prideful person will never be able to face those facets of their lives that are evil and need repentance, 1 John 1:9.
    • Christianity delivers us from the dishonesty that stems from pride.
  5. Pride ruins relationships.
    • We would rather have people admire the selves we pretend to be than to love the selves we really are.
    • Pride often acts as a barrier to reconciliation.
    • Parental pride can lead to the destruction of their children.
  6. Pride can destroy a nation. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18).

Deliverance from Pride

The children worked long and hard on their own little cardboard shack. It was to be a special spot—a clubhouse—when they could meet in in solemn assembly or just laugh, play games, and fool around. As they thought long and hard about their rules, they came up with three rather perceptive ones:
1. Nobody act big.
2. Nobody act small.
3. Everybody act medium.
Just “act medium.” Believable, honest, human, thoughtful and down-to-earth”
—Charles Swindol, Seasons, p. 234

The solution is to develop a healthy humility, but we often confuse humility with humiliation. Humility enhances our humanity and makes us more like Christ, whereas humiliation diminishes our humanity and tempts us to forget that we are made in the image of God. Healthy humility is the recognition that God has imparted to each of us, by his grace, a gift which makes us greater on the inside than most people will ever know.

So how can we be truly humble? By looking to God and cultivating an “attitude of gratitude.” That means it’s important to remember who we were “B.C.” – “before Christ” came into our lives (1 Timothy 1:15 – 17).

Sin

First Sunday/First Principles

Sunday Morning Sermon
September 3, 2017
John McKeel

Calvin Coolidge was the 30th president of the United States. He was known as a man of few words and one Sunday his wife Grace was ill and Calvin went to worship by himself. When he returned, Grace wanted to know all about the service.

“What was the topic of the preacher’s sermon?” she asked.

His answer was typically brief: “Sin.”

Not satisfied, Grace tried to pry more out of Calvin. “And what did he say about sin?” she asked.

“He was against it.”

What is Sin?

Obviously, the Scriptures have a great deal to say about sin and there are many different descriptive words for it:

  1. The most common term for sin, hamartia (αμαρτια), literally means “missing the mark,” and thus “failure, sin,” Romans 3:23.
  2. We might miss the mark because we are “ignorant” (agnoma αγνοημα) Hebrews 9:7.
  3. Or because we are “lawless” (anomia ανομια) Matthew 7:23; 13:41; 23:28; 24:12; Romans 6:19.
  4. Many people simply have no time for God or religion (asebia ασεβεια “Ungodliness, impiety”); Romans 1:18; 11:26…
  5. As a result, they are “defective,” something is missing from their life (attama ηττημα) Romans 11:12; 1 Corinthians 6:7.
  6. There are lines and boundaries but if you step over them, you have “transgressed” (parabasis παραβασις) Romans 4:15; 5:14; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2.
  7. If you break the law it is called paranomia (παρανομια) 2 Peter 2:16.
  8. Sin can also be described as a “misdeed, false step, blunder” (paraptoma παραπτωμα) Matthew 6:14, 15; Romans 5:15 ff.
  9. Some sin comes from not listening or paying attention (parakoa παρακοη) Romans 5:19; Hebrews 2:2

Omission/Commission

Then there are so many different ways to sin! Sometimes we actively sin – these are sins of commission, but sometimes we sin because we fail to act: sins of omission.

PEWSLAG

This can all be very confusing – even overwhelming so an early Christian teacher boiled it down to an acronym: PEWSLAG and called them the “Seven Deadly Sins,” not because they were particularly evil, but because they are “gateway sins” that lead on to worse.

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Wrath (Anger)
  4. Sloth
  5. Lust
  6. Avarice (Greed)
  7. Gluttony

What are the consequences of sin?

  1. Alienation from God (Mark 7:21-23)
  2. Bondage to Self

What is the solution for sin?

Some Things to Think About

Knowledge

A Google search for “sin” yields over 2,600,000,000 results! How do you describe sin?

John introduced several different definitions for sin and seven different kinds of sin. Which one seems to trip you up the most?

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Wrath (Anger)
  4. Sloth
  5. Lust
  6. Avarice (Greed)
  7. Gluttony 

Attitude

  1. A Google search for “sin” yields over 2,600,000,000 results!
  2. He also talked about the difference between sins of omission and commission. Think of an example of each.
  3. Which kind of sin is harder for you to overcome?
  4. Why is God so concerned about our behavior?
  5. Is there such a thing as “victimless sin”? Why or why not?
  6. How does sin harm the sinner?

Action

  • What is the solution for sin? (Explain why.)

Ask, Seek, Knock

Sunday Morning Sermon
August 27, 2017
Matthew 7:7 – 11
John McKeel

Did you ever play the “wishes game” when you were a child? You know it. You pretend you are walking along the beach and find a bottle with a magic genie. He pops out of the bottle and grants you three wishes. What would you wish for?

When we listen to Jesus’ promise in Matthew 7:7, is that too a fairy tale? Does God really answer prayer?

When God says, “No.”

The fact of the matter is, sometimes God says “No.”

  • Does that mean He doesn’t exist?
  • Or worse, does that mean He doesn’t care?
  • Or does God expect us to beg? Luke 18:1 – 4.

Why does God say “No”?

  • Sometimes our requests would hurt us.
  • Sometimes we just want an easy way out.
  • Sometimes there is a greater purpose at stake.

Five Prayer Principles

  1. God knows best. The purpose of prayer is not to change God but to change ourselves – to align our wills with the will of God. Do you remember the first part of Jesus’ model prayer?

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:9, 10).

  1. God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. Don’t pray for enlightenment in order to skip the hard work of study. Rather, as you study ask God for understanding (James 1:5).
  2. Prayer moves within the natural laws that govern life. Bad things do happen to good people. Prayer gives us the power to thrive in the midst of adversity (Romans 5:3 ff.).
  3. We must be definite in prayer. Jesus warned us to avoid meaningless phrases and endless repetition (Matthew 6:7, 8). Prayer is not a mantra!
  4. We must be honest in prayer. We can’t lie to God and we shouldn’t lie to ourselves. That’s why confession is such a critical part of prayer.

Ask

The promise is, God will give us what we ask for.

  1. Some people look around for the hidden camera, laugh and walk away!
  2. Some people foolishly wish for more stuff to clutter their already busy lives.
  3. God is not a «Cosmic Vending Machine»! Do you remember the old Janis Joplin song «Mercedes Bentz»?
  4. So what would you ask for? What should you ask for? Consider the example of Solomon (1 Kings chapter 3).

Seek

A great deal of our literature and mythology is devoted to the “Quest” – knights set out on noble missions. Are you ready to begin your quest?

  1. Some people sit around the living room and dream about going on a quest. They might read about it. They might get out the maps and plan routes and draw up lists of the things they would need, but they never actually set out.
  2. Other people give up too soon. These words are present imperatives. That simply means we need to “keep on asking … keep on seeking … keep on knocking.” (See the International Standard Bible among others.)
  3. Perhaps what hinders us is just knowing where to begin. Jesus told us what to “seek first …” (Matthew 6:33)

Knock

How many people miss out because they don’t have the courage to go knock on the door? How many opportunities are missed because it just seems too good to be true.

Conclusion

Matthew 7:7 is a beautiful promise, so what is required to make it come true?

  1. Lord help me see your purpose.
  2. Lord, you are Lord!
  3. Rejoice, even in the face of suffering.
    • Our joy doesn’t depend on our circumstances.
    • Hebrews 12:2
    • James 1:2, 3

Asking means admitting we need help. Seeking means asking plus effort. Knocking means asking plus effort plus persistence and it all starts with a step.

Some Things to Think About

Knowledge

  1. “Ask and you will receive” … Is that always true? (Think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. What did he ask for and what did he receive?)
  2. “Seek and you will find” … What should we be seeking?
  3. “Knock and the door will be opened” … What door is Jesus talking about?
  4. What do these three actions (ask, seek, knock) have in common?

 Attitude

  1. What are some of the reasons people don’t ask, seek, or knock?
  2. God knows what we need, and, as a good Father he provides what we need, so why does God want us to ask?
  3. What will move us from thinking about going on a quest (seeking) and actually going?
  4. Grammatically, the three verbs (ask, seek, knock) are present imperatives. That means we are to “keep on asking, seeking and knocking.” Why do some people give up early?
  5. How will asking, seeking, and knocking, change us?

Action

  • Write a list of five things to ask God for. Pray over this list every day.

Teach Your Children Well

Sunday Morning Sermon
August 20, 2017
Deuteronomy 6:1 – 7
John McKeel

Five Functions

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

If the church were a building then:

  1. The foundation of the Church is worship (vv. 42; 47).
  2. One wall is education (v. 42).
  3. The other wall is fellowship (v. 42).
  4. One side of the roof is ministry/service (v. 45).
  5. The other side of the roof is evangelism (v. 47).

Of course, the biggest challenge is learning to see these functions as God intended them. For example, “fellowship” means much more than “potluck” and education is more than the classroom experience!

What is the biblical model of education?

When we think of education, we think about a teacher, a student, and a subject and maybe a classroom. It is difficult for us to envision any other model, but I’d like to try.

Let’s go back in time and learn from Moses and the Israelites. His life is coming to an end. The last of the slaves who fled Egypt have died. The Israelites are preparing to enter the Promised Land and Moses, now well over 100 years old, addresses them one last time. Open your Bibles, please, to Deuteronomy chapter 6.

1 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his command-ments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [1]

Principles

  1. “Boil it down.” Yes, there are many commandments but what is the one guiding principle? v. 4.
  2. Know the Lord! v. 5
  3. Teach your children. v. 7
    • Diligently
    • Talk about these things constantly
    • What does it take to raise godly children? Godly parents!

 

Touching Lepers

August 13, 2017
Luke 5:12 – 17
John McKeel

The Disease That Made You an Outcast

There are many terrible diseases: shingles, arthritis, stones of all kinds, but in the ancient world of the Bible one stood out, leprosy. Not only was it hideous and painful, but it made you an outcast.

 A Painless Hell

“The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp,” (Leviticus 13:45–46).

Leprosy or Hansen’s disease as it is known today, destroys the nerves. The results of uncared for injuries leads to horrible disfigurements. When this man came to Jesus (Luke 5:12 – 17), he was truly a man in need.

The Leper Comes to Jesus

As if the disease wasn’t bad enough, leprosy represented punishment for sin (Miriam, Gehazi, and Uzziah had been judged by God with leprosy. See Numbers 12:6–10; 2 Kings 5:25–27; 2 Chronicles 26:19 respectively).

Notice when the leper comes to Jesus, he doesn’t say, “Lord, you can heal me.” Rather he pleads “Lord, you can make me clean.”

Like the leper, before we can be forgiven, three things must happen:

  1. We must become aware of our condition.
  2. We must realize Christ is our only hope.
  3. We must have real faith.

Show Yourself to the Priest

Why did Jesus send him away? Because it was time to celebrate.

“In Biblical times the rare deliverances from leprosy were certified by an elaborate and uniquely joyful ceremony that extended over eight full days in fulfillment of the directives of Leviticus 14. … Imagine the joy of the healed man and his family—and the communal celebration that accompanied that great eighth day. It was as if a resurrection had taken place. Very likely there was feasting and singing long into the night.

For us Christians, the Old Testament’s description of these ancient ceremonies elicits incredible joy not only because the Scriptures speak of Christ (cf. Luke 24:27; John 5:39), but also because this elaborate ritual specifically speaks of the atonement through Christ and his power to deliver. This is precisely what Jesus’ healing of the leper in Luke 5 is all is about.” R.K. Hughes

Some Things to Think About

Knowledge

  1. Do we have any diseases today that carry a social stigma as leprosy did so long ago?
  2. Read the parallel accounts of this healing and think about what each one adds to our understanding.
    1. Matthew 8:2 – 4
    2. Mark 1:40 – 45
    3. Luke 5:12 – 17
  3. Why did Jesus tell the man to show himself to the priest?

Attitude

  1. Jesus didn’t have to touch the man. Why did the Lord do that?
  2. What did the leper feel when Jesus touched him?
  3. How important is touch?

Action

  • Who do you know that needs a hug?

Belief: From Baby Steps to Triumph

First Sunday/First Principles

Sunday Morning Sermon
August 6, 2017
Genesis 12:1 – 9
John McKeel

 

Introduction

In the movies, there are “freeze frame” moments.

  • Rocky dancing at the top of the stairs,
  • when the bone becomes a space ship in 2001: A Space Odessy;
  • Casablanca when Rick and Ilsa part at the airport;
  • Taylor finds the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes;
  • Gene Kelly singing in the rain;
  • Indiana Jones shoots the swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In the story of Abraham, the Freeze Frame moment is Abraham on the mountain top re-united with Isaac (Genesis 22), but that moment, the triumph of Abraham’s faith began many years before; when God called him to leave Ur and journey to the Promised Land.

Open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for …” v. 1

  • Faith and belief translate the same word.
  • Faith is different from hope.

Verse 6 tells us what to believe:

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

  • God exists
  • He “rewards us” with what?
    • Purpose: Life is a school
    • Heaven: the Final Reward 

Abraham’s Journey

  1. It began with the call, Genesis 12:1 – 3
    1. A Command: leave
    2. A Promise: I will
    3. A Blessing
  2. “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness,” Paul, Romans 4:3 (Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) quoting Genesis 15:6.
  3. Notice that Abraham believed, even though he didn’t have all the answers. Can you imagine the conversation he had with Sarah?

 

  1. Where? Hebrews 11:8 – 10
    1. He didn’t know where
    2. But he traveled with his
      1. Tent – Marked him as a pilgrim
      2. Altar – Marked him as a believer
  2. How? Hebrews 11:11, 12
    1. He didn’t know how the promise was going to be fulfilled
  3. When? Hebrews 11:13 – 16
    1. “Are we there yet?”
    2. “How much longer?”
  4. Why? Hebrews 11:17 – 19
    1. Why is God doing it this way?

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Family Friendly Worship Service

Sunday Morning Sermon
August 6, 2017
Daniel chapter 6
John McKeel

God Rewards Faithfulness

The book of Daniel opens as Daniel and his friends are led into captivity. They are to be educated in the ways of the Babylonians.

We all know the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, but have you ever thought about how Daniel’s faithfulness in chapter one prepared him for the lions in chapter 6?

Predictability

Daniel became a victim of jealousy and his enemies tricked King Darius issuing a silly decree that would ultimately see Daniel thrown to the lions. When Daniel learned of the king’s order, he “knelt down as usual” and prayed three times a day “just as he had always done.” Talk about being cool under pressure!

What Would You Pray About?

Did you notice the last part of verse 10? What would you pray about if you were in Daniel’s position? He “gave thanks”! Our prayers pale in comparison. How did his attitude help him through the crisis?

Saved Through Not From

Even though Daniel was faithful, he was thrown into the lion’s den. This is a critical principle every disciple must recognize: God saves us through troubles, not from troubles.

Some Things to Think About

Knowledge

  1. There are many different kinds of prayers. Prayers of adoration are ways of telling the Lord why you love him. Prayers of confession are a first step towards growth and overcoming the barriers in our lives. An “attitude of gratitude” is the foundation of worship and prayers of thanksgiving cultivate personal growth. The most common prayers are requests when we ask God to help us endure trials and tribulations. Can you think of other types of prayer?
  2. If you were in Daniel’s situation, what would you pray about? Why?
  3. How did Daniel’s commitment in chapter one, prepare him for the trial in chapter 6?

Attitude

  1. How do good habits help you in times of crisis?
  2. Why did Daniel “give thanks” in the midst of his trial? (6:10)
  3. Why didn’t the Lord save Daniel before Daniel was thrown to the lions?

Action

  • How can Daniel’s story help you face the lions in your life?

 

 

Confession: Coming Clean

Sunday Morning Sermon
July 23, 2017
Psalm 32, 51

John McKeel

Aachen’s Story

Aachen was part of the army of Israel that conquered Jericho. Unfortunately, he disobeyed God and tried to cover up his sin with disastrous results for him and his family (Joshua 7:10 – 26).

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:9, 10

Confession is Part of Discipleship

  1. Part of the people’s response to John the Baptist’s message was confession, (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:5).
  2. The Christians in Ephesus confessed their addiction to magic (Acts 19:18).
  3. James, the brother of Jesus, urges us “5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Let the Poison Out

What is the value in confession?

  1. Everyone has experiences to share – that you need to share!
  2. The more we share, the deeper the understanding between us.
  3. Everyone faces situations where talking with people who “just get it” can be incredibly powerful.

Some Things to Think About

Knowledge

It is interesting to look up the number of places in the Bible where someone confesses, “I have sinned.” Read and think about these passages:

  • Exodus 9:37-30
  • Joshua 7:10-26
  • 1 Samuel 15:13-26
  • 2 Samuel 12:7-14
  • Matthew 27:3-5
  • Luke 15:11-24

Attitude

  • After looking at those passages, it seems sometimes confession led to forgiveness (David and the Prodigal Son) and sometimes it didn’t (Aachen and King Saul). What makes the difference?
  • What is the difference between true confession and “Hand-Caught-in-the-Cookie-Jar” confession?
  • Why is confession such an important part of the Christian experience?
  • Why don’t we practice it more?
  • There are two ways to become aware of sin and our need to confess. The first is to become aware of the transgression: “I’ve done a terrible thing” and the other is to become aware of God, which causes us to contrast his holiness with our own sinfulness. (How white is this paint? If you have a standard white paint chip to compare it to, the job is easy.) When is it appropriate to use each method (pointing out sin or pointing someone to God)?

Action

Sometimes the first step in learning to confess is learning to admit to ourselves that we are sinners. Try writing your confession on a slip of paper and then offer it to God by burning it.