Relevant Faith

First Sunday/ First Principles 

“Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; it is obeying in spite of consequence.”
—  G.A. Studdert Kennedy

What Do You Believe?

Faith is a funny thing. The word simply means “belief.” There are many things we believe in that really don’t make any difference in the way we live. For example, I believe there are two mountains taller than Mt. Everest on planet earth. (Mauna Kea in Hawaii rises 30,610 ft. from the floor of the ocean; Chimborazo in Equador is 20,000 feet higher than Everest if you measure from the Earth’s core and not sea level. The earth bulges at the equator).

On the other hand, some beliefs matter. You would never cross the Gold Star Bridge if you didn’t believe the bridge could hold the weight of your car!

There are four kinds of faith, we need to be concerned about:

  1. “Peter Pan” faith is just wishful thinking.
  2. “Monkey Bar” faith isn’t really faith at all.
  3. “Submariner’s” faith believes the boat will re-surface.
  4. “Personal Faith,” such as the statement, “I believe in Jan,” is a statement of trust.

What is “Faith”?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, (-Hebrews 11:1)

“Assurance” literally means “-reality.” For example, Hebrews 1:3 says -Jesus,

is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,

In other words, faith gives substance to hope. Therefore Christian faith is not a “Peter Pan” faith, but what is faith based on?

Facts — Faith — Feelings

Christianity is based on truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” (John 8:32).

What are some of those truths?

  1. “The starry heavens above”
  2. “The moral law within”
  3. The Empty Tomb

Faith Busters

(Matthew 13:1 – 8).

Flighty Faith, Unfortunately, some people’s faith starts with great promise but quickly falls away.

Then there are Distracted Disciples who allow other things to crowd in on their belief.

I’ve also known Fragile Faith. It can’t go the distance.

Irrelevant Faith

Unfortunately, far too many people believe the Christian faith is, at best, irrelevant.

Only 3 out of 10 Americans are “practicing Christians” (people who believe their faith is very important to them and they attend at least services at least once a month).

3 out of 4 Americans might be considered “Legacy Christians.”

“For many millions of people who might be considered “legacy Christians,” however, Christianity is background noise that can safely be ignored. … They used to be active or grew up as Christian, but now the tenets and practices of faith are just part of the landscape, not guiding lights for their priorities and lifestyle.”

Why?

“Christian leaders are viewed like the smiling greeter at Walmart: they might point you in the right direction, but after that, you’re on your own.”

“You don’t have to be religious to be good.”

Christianity is irrelevant to the “Real Stuff” of Life and Culture.

Relevant Faith

People don’t understand, Christianity is about life — life now and life to come! We believe Christianity is relevant because:

Faith provides a moral compass.

Faith provides hope!

Faith leads to love.

Our faith is based on truth.

“And the truth shall
set you free.”

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?

Be a Blessing

Sunday Morning Sermon
June 25, 2017
John McKeel

My grandmother once told me: “Everyone makes you happy…. Some people make you happy when you see them coming and some people make you happy when you see them going, but everyone makes you happy.”

God calls us to be blessed and to be a blessing to others.

God promised to bless Abraham “so that you will be a blessing,” (Genesis 12:2). We don’t use the word “bless” very often in daily discourse – unless someone sneezes! What does “bless” mean? Fortunate. Happy. Originally it was reserved for the gods. “It denotes the transcendent happiness of a life beyond care, labor and death,” (TDNT). In other words, they don’t worry.

“Without time, there can be no worry.” Therefore, we need to strive to live in the now.

God Blesses Us

How does God bless us? We don’t need to worry because:

  1. God is in control.
  2. Everything belongs to God. We are just trustees.
  3. We know how the story ends.
  4. Death has lost its power.
  5. We are never alone.

The Blessing is Counter-Intuitive (Christianity is Revolutionary)

We count someone blessed who is rich, fortunate, etc. but Christianity turns the world upside down. Matthew 5:1-10.

5  Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:

3     “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4     Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5     Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6     Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7     Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8     Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9     Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10    Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poor – We say the rich are blessed. They don’t have to worry, but the truth is the poor must trust in God. We grow in the hard times!

  • Mourn – We say the happy are blessed because they are content, but those who mourn are blessed because God dries their tears.
  • Meek – We tell our children to “Be proud,” but “pride goes before the fall.” Strength under control is a blessing!
  • Hunger – Hunger is a desire. The blessing comes to those who desire righteousness!
  • Merciful – We praise justice, but pray for mercy.
  • Pure in Heart – Are chumps. They are easy prey for the shrewd, but the Christian values purity because of its power: the power of a single, unified, balanced, whole life.
  • Peacemakers – are stuck in the middle, but their self-sacrifice blesses the world.

The Blessing Requires Faith

There are two requirements of faith:

  1. Faith requires trust
  2. Faith requires growth. Monkey-bar faith v. sailing over the horizon. Monkey-bar faith is like the playground. We swing from one bar to the next. It might be hard but we can always see the next step, but when you sail over the horizon, you lose sight of land. That kind of radical faith takes us out of our comfort zone!

This Week: Be a blessing!

If you have any questions about this week’s lesson, or you’d just like to talk, please call John (619-313-7997) or drop him an email:

John@GrotonChurch.org