Reflections on "The World at Our Fingertips" Matthew 28: 16-20; 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20

I continue to not feel that comfortable with the sermons I am preaching as part of the iPhone theology series.  Ironically, I've been looking forward to the sermon series since last spring when I had the idea for the the preaching series.   But, so far, it has not worked as well as I would have liked.

Part of the dissatisfaction may result from just having preached about the minor prophets over the summer, which demanded that I work with the text each week, study different resources, and really dig into the text.  With the iPhone series, I start with the theological point about God and then move to find a text that explores that concept.  Inevitably, I end up with illustrations about the iPhone, a couple of texts, and then dissatisfaction with how I have treated the text in the sermon.

The sermons I preached Sunday drifted from the text below, but I could not remember where I had made those mid-sermon changes.

“The World at Our Fingertips” October 4, 2015; FPC, Troy; iPhone theology series; World Communion Sunday; Matthew 28: 16-20; 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20

Introduction: A few months ago, I was trying to get Skype on my computer to work so that I could communicate with a couple in South Africa about an upcoming baptism.

Skype – a way of calling someone through the Internet so that I can see their faces and hear their voices. I find that I use it fairly often these days to do things like pre-marital counseling with couples that do not live in the area.

I could have been using my Skype app on my cell phone, but I was not.

I was having trouble making the connection work, and my cell phone vibrated. I looked over, and there was a text message from the couple in South Africa, using a 937 cell number exchange, with a text of instructions to get the Skype set up correctly.

My daughter was in Costa Rica for a semester, and we communicated through the Viber app on my iphone. We could talk and see each other., and there were not additional costs.

Once a month, I can download through my email on my iPhone a monthly newsletter from mission partners in Africa that our Endowment Fund supports annually.

The world has become a smaller place because of technology.

In a real sense, the world is at our fingertips?

What do we make of this world?

Move 1: The world seems a smaller place.

a. Less scary world because it is more accessible;

1. Disneyworld – for years tourists have ridden a boat through scenes from countries around the world listening to the tune “it's a small world, after all”

2. Familiarity, seeing other people in their own setting; communicating with others helps break down barriers.

3. Makes those other people seem real, more like us.

b. Smaller world can also be scarier.

1. The rest of the world is not longer over there, way away from us.

2. The world is at our doorsteps, with all its differences and divides, including threats and violence, in our backyard.

100. All God's creation

1. Genesis tells us that God created all the world.

2. not just Troy, or OH, or the United States, but all the world.

Move 2: God's commitment to the world reflects our call to the world.

a. How would you end a gospel?

1. You have told about Jesus' birth; his healing and teaching; his miracles; his trial and crucifixion; his resurrection; what would be your final word?

2. Matthew – Go; make disciples; teach; baptize.

3. Go –

b. Christ – reconciles world to God.

Move 3: What do we do?

a. Brian Blount, the president of Union Seminary in Richmond, VA, shares a story told to him by one of the seminary's trustees.

She was working with a group of children and noticed that one of the children had pulled out a bag of crackers and had begun munching on them. She watched him as she led the activity to see if he were going to share his crackers. It became clear he was not.

At first, she ignored the young boy. Then she decided that it was a teachable moment. She engaged the boy biblically, “Remember Jesus and the little boy who shared his loaves and fishes?” she inquired. 'Lots of people were able to eat. Jesus came to teach us to share and be kind to others.' the boy's quickly and decisively responded: “No, he didn't. He came for our salvation.”

And apparently the salvation of the other kids did not require that he share his crackers.

b. Not a triumphant moment.

1. 11 disciples reminder that 1 has taken the path of betrayal.

2. “Some doubted.”

3. we go with humility and a story to share – the story of how we have discovered God's love and grace in our lives.

100. Paul uses an appropriate image – Ambassadors for Christ

1. not generals to force by gunpoint.

2. not debaters to compel people to believe

3. Ambassadors

4. live among the people.

5. engage themselves

6. work with them.

7. embassy is part of the United States, so they stand in who they are, but they reach out to those to whom they have been sent.

               8. Powerful image for us.

conclusion: World Communion.

God's gift to us that connects us to all the world.

A gift meant to be shared with the whole world.

"The World at Our Fingertips" Matthew 28: 16-20

As I was trying to get Skype on my computer to work so that I could communicate with a couple in South Africa, my cell phone went off.  The couple from South Africa was calling me (maybe texting) to help me figure out how we could Skype.

My daughter was in Costa Rica for a semester, and we communicated through an app on the phone.

Not on the phone, although I could download them through my email app, but some mission partners in Africa that we support through our Endowment Fund send us monthly emails telling us what they are doing in ministry.

The world has become a smaller place because of technology.

The scary world is perhaps less scary because it is more accessible; or perhaps scarier since it is no longer "way over there," but at our doorstep.

Jesus tells the disciples to go into the world baptizing and teaching.  How do we live out the Great Commission?

Shirley Guthrie in his book Christian Doctrine: Revised Edition quotes Donald Miller (The Nature and Mission of the Church):  "there is diversity within a large family - different aptitudes, different tastes, different personal characteristics. it would be a strange family, nonetheless, which would set up separate living arrangements to satisfy the particular peculiarities of each member. Ina  real family, the diversity is held within the unity of the family.  The family lives in the same house, eats together, carries forward its groups activities as a unity.  In this way, the diversity enriches the whole family life, and each benefits from the other" (360).

How do we engage the world?  Do we evangelize?  Find connections that transcend our differences?

Reflections on "Texting and Driving" Genesis 3: 1-13; Romans 7: 14-20

I picked the Romans text because of Paul's point that he does the things that he hates, which feels a lot like how many of us sin -- we know that we should not do it; we don't particularly want to do it if we think about it (sometimes we profess to be opposed to doing it); but then we do it anyway.

It was a fairly straight-forward sermon.  I had several good comments from people, so maybe straight-forward works well for some people.

I tried a different conclusion in both the Chapel and Sanctuary services.  Neither worked particularly well.  I tried to go back to the texting example, but it felt like the conclusion was that texting while driving was a sin, rather than the hope that the texting reference would draw the listener back to their thoughts on sinning.

“Texting and Driving” September 27, 2015; FPC, Troy; iPhone theology series; Genesis 3: 1-13; Romans 7: 14-20

Introduction: Texting while driving makes it 23X more likely to have an accident;

To put that in perspective, dialing your cell phone makes it 2.8X more likely;

reaching for device makes it 1.4X;

listening or talking makes it 1.3X (http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats)

Even without the statistics, we know the truth that texting and driving is wrong – we know because we have fiddled with the phone ourselves, or seen other weaving down the road or staying stopped on a green light, and then looked over to see the driver texting.

Move 1: As I think about texting and driving, I am reminded of sin – that is, doing what we know we should not do.

a. WE know we should not text and drive.

1. 95% of people know that texting and driving is a serious

2. 35% have texted while driving in the last 30 days.

3. I suspect that on more than one occasion, drivers are committed to not texting while driving, until their phone buzzes. They cannot resist the temptation.

5.  We know better; we condemn others for doing it; and then we do it ourselves.

b. I am reminded of Paul's words to the Romans: "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.” (Romans 7:14)  

1. Sin is like that.  We generally know better.

2. In a quiet, rational moment, we tell ourselves we will not do it.  

      3. And then we do it.

     4. we know that internal conflict that Paul describes – both the temptation and our seeming inability to do anything about it.

c. When we turn to what Jesus has to say about sin, we find that Jesus ratchets up our understanding of sin.

       1. It is not just committing adultery, but thinking of committing adultery.

       2. Not just killing people, it is having contempt for any human being.

3. not just texting while driving, but thinking about texting while driving!

It seems hard to avoid sin.

Move 2: Sin is about me.

a. I remember way back in confirmation class the minister defining sin for us in a very simple way – little s, big I, little n.

1. sin is when I become more important than anything else.

2. Lots of other conversations about sin, but that is a good a summary as I know.

b. Texting – why would you do what you know is dangerous.

1. because we cannot resist the buzzing phone on the seat next to us.

2. We know the message has information for us, or is about us, or somehow impacts us, and we decide that the message about us is more important than anyone else.

b. That's the Genesis story isn't it?

1. Adam and Eve become so focused on themselves and their desires, that forget, ignore, willfully disobey God's instruction that they not eat of the tree.'

2. Easy to blame the serpent.

3. we always find a serpent somehow, don't we?

4. someone else to blame for our sinfulness. Some circumstance that makes our actions necessary, instead of sinful.

5. Adam and Eve would have found something else to blame if not the serpent because they were focused on what they wanted to do, not what God wanted them to do.

b. Adam and Eve cannot resist the temptation to be like God.

1. To have the same knowledge as God.

2. To elevate themselves (there's that capital I) to the God's level

c. think about examples of sin.

      1. We can start with the sins of others (it's easier to see what other are doing wrong!).

       2.  People who perpetrate violence on others.

       3. Peel back the sin enough to get to the root cause, and I suspect you will find someone putting their understandings, or their desires, or their anger above annoying and anything else.

        4. Or think about your own sins.  

         5. Peel back the layers and you will discover, I bet, that you will find that your sin occurs when you place yourself and what you desire above anyone or anything else.

d.  Irony, that when we forget about God and others and think only about ourselves, we miss the opportunity to become the person God calls us to be.

1. The one who created us has this vision for us; a vision for how we are to relate to one another; a vision for how we are to relate to our Maker.

2. And God calls it good.

3. But we turn away from that right relationship when we sin.

Move 3: Sin separates us from each other and from God.

a. Genesis story

1. How quickly does Adam turn on Eve? “She is the one.”

2. And then Adam and Eve find themselves both out of right relationship with God.

3. When Adam and Eve decide they are more concerned about elevating themselves to God's level than living in the relationship they have with God, they disrupt that connection.

b. Back to sin is when we make it all about ourselves.

1. when we do, there is not room for others.

2. We harms someone else.

3. We harm our relationships.

4. We separate ourselves from them

c. The breaking of those relationship is ultimately a separation from God as well.

1. The Psalmist writes: “Against you, you alone have I sinned.”

                  2. the truth is – All sin is against God.

    3.  Presbyterians Today, “At the head of the table in the cafeteria of the church-operated elementary school was a large pile of apples. Next to the apples one of the cafeteria workers had placed a sign that said, “Take only one. God is watching.” Farther down the lunch line was a large bowl of chocolate chip cookies. Next to it was another sign, this one obviously written by one of the children: Take all you want. God is watching the apples.” 

4. as if God only cared about the apples!

4. God desires right relationship with God and with each other.

Move 4: Sin is not the final answer

a. Remember that Eve said if they ate of the tree they would die.

              1.  But by the grace of God another day awaits despite their sinfulness.

             2.  We also remember that after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden God provided them with garments. 

             3. God's grace abounds, despite our sinfulness.

b. Eugene Peterson in Leap over a Wall notes that in Psalm 51 there are only four names for sin. Sin is boring because it is all reruns. What is fresh and new are the varied ways in which god's grace is seen.

100. One of those ways is God coming in Christ.

            1. Christian Century, 6/27/2012; “A Hopeful Universalism,” Paul Jones (27): “My point is this: in light of Christ's person and work, sin no longer sets the terms for our relationship with God and God's relationship with us.”

2. Christ takes on our sin and offers us a clean slate with God and with one another.

3. Paul goes on to describe how only because of Christ and by living in the spirit can we stop doing the things that we hate.

Conclusion: There's the phone on the seat next to you. It buzzes. You have a text message. You know you should not pick it up.

But it could be important to you.

It probably won't take too long to read.

Will you reach for it?

"Texting and Driving" Genesis 3: 1-13; Romans 7: 14-20

When I think about texting and driving, I am reminded of Paul's words to the Romans:  " What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise" (Romans 7:14, The Message).  I cannot not imagine anyone arguing that texting while driving makes sense or is safe, and yet, people do it all the time.  And if not text, they (we...I) do things with their phones that lead to distracted driving.  We know better; we condemn others for doing it; and then we do it ourselves.

Sin is like that.  We generally know better.  In a quiet, rational moment, we tell ourselves we will not do it.  And then we do.

Psalm 51 reminds us that all sin against anyone (or against anything like creation) is a sin against God.  

We read the story in Genesis and see how easy it is to blame the serpent.  We are generally good at finding others to blame for our sinfulness.  We would not have done it, except for....  I wonder if Adam and Eve would have sinned regardless of whether the serpent arrived on the scene. Would you they have found another way to do what they wanted, despite God's instructions?

I am reminded of the old saying that sin is spelled "sIn" because at the root of sin is the desire to make "I' (me) most important.  That fits with the idea that sin is when we try to be God.  

We also remember that after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden God did provide them with clothes.  God's grace abounds, despite our sinfulness.

Reflections on "Maps to Anywhere" Genesis 12: 1-9; I Corinthians 1: 17-24

I spent too much time in the sermon on personal stories about iPhone map issues.  Still trying to find the balance between using the iPhone as a bridge to the sermon and the iPhone stories dominating too much of the sermon.  Did not find the correct balance this week.

I hope the segue into the predestination issue worked out ok.  I went ahead and added that point, in part because I have been in several discussions recently about heaven and who goes (or does not go) to heaven, Perhaps this point in the sermon was helpful.

I had a bit too much material for this sermon and did not find a tight focus for the sermon.  Each of the points could have been its own sermon.  In fact, each of the sub-points of the second move could probably have been a stand-alone sermon.

The song from "Big River" would have been better if it had been sung, but I was not working far enough ahead to make that happen, and I didn't think I could pull off singing that song as part of the sermon.

I mentioned my friend Cletus Johnson who took me when I was a Sr. High to San Antonio for a Synod Youth Workshop.  Remembering him brought back some great memories of church youth groups activities, games of Trivial Pursuit, and a New Year's Eve party with Cletus and other college students when I was in college.  Cletus taught art and seemed to know a little bit about everything, which always made life interesting.  I still fondly remember our conversation in the van on that particular trip, but also lots of other great conversations through the years.  I am reminded how blessed I have been to be surrounded by people who nurtured and challenged me as I have grown in my faith.

“Maps to Everywhere” September 20, 2015; FPC, Troy; iPhone theology series; Genesis 12: 1-9; I Corinthians 1: 17-24

Introduction: There was a time when taking a trip meant getting out the Atlas, tracing the route to where we were going (sometimes tracing multiple routes), adding up the mileage, figuring out how long it would take to get to each stop along the way, and then writing up detailed directions complete with mileage between points for use on the trip.

I also had maps and an Atlas in my car to use in case we got lost (this proved particularly helpful when I realized we were in Delaware and Delaware was not on the mapped out route, but that's another sermon!).

Then, we moved into the time of Mapquest or Google maps, with the computer telling me the best way to get somewhere and printed directions to follow as we drove along.

Now, with my iPhone 4, I have a map function on my phone. It apparently always knows where I am, so all I have to do if put in the location of where I want to go, and soon I have step-by-step directions. No voice talking to me, but directions.

Gone are the days, well mostly gone are the days when I would try to find places based on feel and some sense of knowing where I was going.

Map function and discipleship.

Move 1: Hearing God's call means a journey.

a. We read this morning God's call of Abram.

1., we know God's call will be life-changing one as marked by Abram becoming Abraham and Sarai becoming Sarah.

2. The change is not just about who they are by name, or whose they are now by God's claim, but the hearing God's call involved packing up and heading out on a journey.

b. We in the gospels that following Jesus means going on a journey.

1. When Jesus calls his disciples, he tells them to "follow me." “Quit what you're doing and let's go!”
2. When the rich, young ruler is confronted by Jesus, Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (that' the part we usually remember), but then adds, "and then come follow me.

         3. We focus on the selling of possessions and assume that's why the young ruler won't go, but maybe he was not willing to embark on the journey of following Christ.

           4.Ironically, as we live in what we consider to be a transitory time when people move a lot, most of us do not have a clear sense that when we hear God's call it means pack up and move.

    c.  Being a disciples means change.

          1.  A life of discipleship means a life of turning to God and allowing God to guide us

           2.  Discipleship ought to lead us to different places.

           3.  can you imagine turning your life over to God and following Christ and hearing God say, “Stay exactly like you are. Don't move, don't change?”

           4. Resident Aliens, Willimon and Hhauerwas, p. 5.2) When we are baptized, we (like the first disciples) jump on a moving train. As disciples, we do not so much accept a creed, or come to a clear sense of self-understanding by which we know this or that with utter certitude. We become part of a journey that began long before we got here and shall continue long after we are gone. FPC, mt. Sterling, Feb. 6, 1994

4. As you look back over your life as a follower of Jesus, can you see how you have moved to different places in your understandings, in your approach to life?
   d. Map function on my phone gives me a series of steps to get from one place to the next.

the life of discipleship is a series of steps, going in the direction God sends us.

Move 2: Lessons from the journey

a. Cletus Johnson –riding shotgun in the van on the way to San Antonio; “Getting lost in a new place is the best way to learn about it. If you go straight to where you are supposed to go, you don't learn anything!”

b. Important to have the correct directions.

1. My wife Leslie, my daughter Noelle, and I were driving to College Station from Houston to do a college visit at Texas A&M
   mind you, this was not a new drive for either of us, although it had been several years since we had made the drive and we were in fact on a new highway since the last time we made the trip.
   Leslie punched in Texas A&M on her map app on the phone. M on her map app, and it kept giving us info that did not seem possible. I kept ignoring the requests to turn here or there. She kept asking me why I would not follow the directions. Finally, she discovered that her iPhone was giving us directions to some Texas A&M branch in Houston

2. We cannot live into our calling unless we listen for the directions from God.

3. we live in a world with lots of people willing to tell us where to go and what they think we should be doing.

4. But we must listen for God's voice, we need to turn to God in prayer for guidance; we need to hear from those in our faith community who help us discern God's call for our lives.

               5. the directions God has for us maybe different than what the world tells us.

b. there may be detours along the way.

1. Sidney at night.
2. Two bridges out (or maybe one that I came to twice from different directions) and one other detour.
3. As we live our lives, we find ourselves in unexpected situations or in places we had not anticipated.
4. Those detours are not the places we abandon our faith, but the places where we especially need God's guidance and direction.
5. Be ready for detours and see them as opportunities to learn and grow.

c. We learn along the way.

1. Fast forward from Abraham to the Israelites leaving Egypt and heading to the Promised Land.
2. The journey for the Israelites to the Promised Land was not the most direct route.

3. in fact, God led the Israelites “the roundabout way” (Exodus 13: 18)

4. I looked – my iPhone map has an option for a walking route, a biking route, a driving route, staying off highways, but no roundabout way!
5. God worried that the Israelites were not ready for the Promised Land.
3. they might turn back out of fear if they went the most direct route through the land of the Philistines.
4. They needed to grow out of people who understood themselves as slaves and grow into people who could claim the Promised Land.
5. God led them on a journey through the wilderness to allow God time to work on them, shape them, prepare them for the Promised Land.

d. sometimes you need to stop.

1. Rush of finding someplace.

2. either trying to figure it out or having the navigator punch in directions.

3. Still moving while having the map reset.
4. Not reading the little map on the phone screen correctly (remember, I don't have a voice, so I have to read it and figure it out!).

5. I've learned that sometimes it's better to pull off to the side of the road and take time to figure out where I need to be going.

6. Barbara Brown Taylor tells the story of a woman who was lost on the country roads trying to find Taylor’s house. She was eventually pulled over for speeding. She said to the officer, “I am sorry. I know that I was speeding, but I’ve been lost for the last forty minutes and I cannot find Tower Terrace anywhere on this map.” “Well, I’m sorry about that too, ma’m,” he said, writing up her citation, “but what made you think that hurrying would help you find your way?” (134) Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church

7. Sometimes along our journey of discipleship we need to stop and collect our thoughts, renew that conversation with God about where we are headed, and then move forward.

Move 3: Sometimes we make our journey about getting into heaven.

a. I tried to map a journey to heaven. Got lots of choices, but not the one that comes with eternal life, although the option for Heavenly Ham seemed inviting.

b. if we make our journey to follow Jesus all about a journey to heaven, then I think we miss the point.

1. In the musical "Big River,": there's a song "Do you Wanna go to Heaven."  Huck Finn is told that he better learn to read or he won't be able to learn how to go to heaven.  Here are the lyrics:

DO YOU WANNA GO TO HEAVEN

FROM BROADWAY MUSICAL "BIG RIVER"

Writer Roger Miller

Looka here Huck, do you wanna go to heaven

Do you wanna go to Heaven

Well I'll tell you right now

You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'

Or you'll never get to heaven 'cause you wont know how

You may think that the whole thing is silly

But it ain't silly really and I'll tell you right now

If you don't learn to read then you can't read your Bible

And you won't get to heaven 'cause you wont know how

Read more: Roger Miller - Do You Wanna Go To Heaven Lyrics | MetroLyrics

2. Suggests that our life of discipleship is about finding the secret knowledge or path that gets us into heaven.

3. God does not send Abraham on a journey to heaven. God calls Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations.

4. when Paul writes to the Corinthians, he does not describe how they can get to heaven. He calls them to the foolishness of the cross, to live out their faith as the follow the resurrected one.

b. Predestination.

1. Reformed theology noted for that thought.
2. The idea that every step of our journey is pre-ordained and mapped out, and all we are doing to following along the predestined path.
3. Not sure that is biblical, nor an accurate understanding of John Calvin's argument.
4. For Calvin, predestination was not about our journey of discipleship, but about not having to worry about salvation.
5. Remember, Calvin is teaching people who had grown up Catholic with a high sense of having to do penance or give money to ensure salvation.  Without that model for how to get to heaven, they were unsure how to understand salvation.
6. Calvin offers predestination as a way to rely on God's grace, rather than spending effort trying to earn one's way to heaven.

Conclusion: iPhone can provide you with maps to anywhere, but the faithful follow the path Jesus puts before them.

"Maps to Everywhere" Genesis 12: 1-9; I Corinthians 1: 17-24

When I laid out the initial plans for the iPhone theology preaching series, I knew that one of the sermons would begin with the map app found on the phones.  At the time, I thought it would deal with predestination.  Now that I have arrived at that week (pun intended), I am thinking more about journeys than about predestination.  Certainly, the genesis passage is about journeys.  Not sure if I can fit the predestination point in the sermon or not.

Random thoughts about journeys:

1.  I remember before the iPhone having to call my brother on occasion so that he could find me on the his computer and tell me where I needed to go when I was lost.

2.  I also used to randomly try to find places based on feel and some sense of knowing where I was going.  It worked sometimes, but often did not.  Now, I just have to punch the address in my iPhone, although I have to make sure that the address is correct.

3.  My wife Leslie and I were driving to College Station from Houston to visit Texas A&M.  mind you, this is not a new drive for either of us, although we were on a new highway since the last time we made the trip.  She punched in Texas A&M on her map app, and it kept giving us info that did not seem possible.  I kept ignoring the requests to turn here or there.  She kept asking me why I would not follow the directions.  Finally, she discovered that her iPhone was giving us directions to Texas A&M, Houston.

4.  When God makes covenant with Abraham, God has Abraham pack up and move.  When Jesus calls his disciples, he tells them to "follow me."  When the rich, young ruler is confronted by Jesus, Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (that' the part we usually remember), but then adds, "and then come follow me.  Ironically, we live in what we consider to be a transitory time when people move a lot, but most of us do not have a clear call to pack and move when we hear God's call.

5. one connection to predestination -- if we make our journey to follow Jesus all about a journey to heaven, then I think we miss the point.  In fact, I think predestination was part of Calvin's argument that people did not need to worry about salvation, Becca's God had already resolved that issue.  Remember, Calvin is teaching people who had grown up Catholic with a high sense of having to do penance or give money to ensure salvation.  Without that model for how to get to heaven, they were unsure how to understand salvation. Calvin offers predestination as a way to rely on God's grace, rather than spending effort trying to earn one's way to heaven.

6.  In the musical "Big River,": there's a song "Do you Wanna go to Heaven."  Huck Finn is told that he better learn to read or he won't be able to learn how to go to heaven.  Here are the lyrics:

DO YOU WANNA GO TO HEAVEN
FROM BROADWAY MUSICAL "BIG RIVER"
Writer Roger Miller

Looka Huck, do you wanna go to heaven
Do you wanna go to Heaven
Well I'll tell you right now
You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'
Or you'll never get to heaven 'cause you wont know how
You may think that the whole thing is silly
But it ain't silly really and I'll tell you right now
If you don't learn to read then you can't read your Bible
And you won't get to heaven 'cause you wont know how
Looka here Huck, now you better think it over
Do you wanna be a loafer like your pappy is now
You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'
Or you'll never get to heaven 'cause you wont know how
Hey, hey do you wanna go to heaven
Do you wanna go to heaven
If you don't go to hell
Looka here Huck, do you wanna go to heaven
Do you wanna go to heaven
Well I'll tell you right now
You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'
Or you'll never get to Heaven 'cause you wont know how
You may think that the whole thing is silly
But it ain't silly really and I'll tell you right now
If you don't learn to read then you can't read your Bible
And you won't get to heaven 'cause you wont know how
Looka here Huck, now you better think it over
Do you wanna be a loafer like your pappy is now
You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'
Or you'll never get to heaven 'cause you wont know how
Hey, hey here's the situation concernin' education aggravatin' and how
Do you wanna go to heaven
Well you better get your lessons or you won't know how
Looka here Huck, do you wanna be a feller
Like a feller really ought to be
I'll tell you right now
You better learn to read and you better learn your writin'
Or you'll never get to Heaven 'cause you wont know how

Read more: Roger Miller - Do You Wanna Go To Heaven Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Lots of ideas that need to be narrowed down before Sunday.

Reflections on "The Pink Thing" Exodus 3: 13-15; Ephesians 4: 1-6

The goal of the new preaching series, "iPhone theology," is to engage the listeners by starting at a place which gets their attention, the iPhone and technology, and then moving from that entry point to some reflections on how we understand God and see God at work in our world.  The danger, of course, is that the attempt to get the listeners' attention will be so gimmicky that the listeners dismiss the sermon.  On top of that challenge, I read an article last week on preaching that suggested that one of the signs of poor preaching is how often the preacher tells a story about himself or herself.  Given that  my entry point to the sermon series is my own experience in using an iPhone, I am feeling a bit convicted by that author's comments.  

I turned to the story of the burning bush for this sermon.  Not sure if I did so because it fit or because it is often my go-to text when trying to describe the vastness of God.  Interestingly enough, when I went ot my notes fo the first class of confirmation that also took place yesterday, there was this same Exodus passage to describe the expansive nature of God that can never be captured by our human descriptions or understandings of God.  

“The Pink Thing” September 13, 2015; FPC, Troy; iPhone theology series; Exodus 3: 13-15

Introduction: About a year ago, the hand-me-down phone that came to me was an iPhone 4.

That's how it works in my house. I get the phone of last resort that arrives used after my wife or one of my daughters has upgraded her phone. I'm not really a phone techie, so being a couple of years behind on the latest phone technology is OK with me.

We made the phone exchange at the kitchen table. I started to leave with my new/used phone, and I realized that it did not have a protective cover on it. It occurred to me that it would be a bit hypocritical of me to not put a protective cover on it immediately given all the lecturing I had done to my daughters about the importance of protecting one's phone.

“Do you have an otter box?” I asked my daughter (an Otter box is one of those rubber protective coverings).

“yes, but only a pink one.”

“OK. I'll use it until I can get another one.”

But, then I discovered two things about the pink phone. One, it's easy to find, even on my messy desk. Two, I have lots of interesting conversations about my pink phone. Hardly a day goes by without someone asking about my pink phone.

As I learned how to use my new pink iPhone, it occurred to me that some of my lessons seemed almost theological.

This fall, the sermons will be about theological insights I have discovered while learning about my pink iPhone.

Move 1: The God of possibilities

a. The iPhone came with lots of of possibilities.

1. Some apps already loaded on it.

2.  Internet.

3.  Email.

4. some I could not imagine how I would ever use.

b. God of possibilities.

1. Exodus story.

2. Moses stares at the burning bush that will not be consumed, the burning bush from which he hears the voice of God.

3. Moses hears God call him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

4. as Moses considers that possibility, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that as Moses considers how to get out of that task, he asks God a question: “if the people ask me what your name is, what should I tell them?”

100. God says tell them that my name is “I am who I am,” or “I will be who I will be.”

1. A cryptic answer.

2. but also a name that speaks to the endless possibilities of God is.

3. a name that says “You cannot confine me to whatever box you have.”

4. A name that says, “you cannot define me, especially if you try to limit me to what you think it possible.”

5. a name that not only points to the God who is ever before us full of possibilities, but the God who calls us to live into that which we have never even imagined.

500. God goes on to note that the name include the title “God fo Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.”

1. A reminder that when we speak of God, we speak of the one who has a history with us.

2. We can point to times in our past when God has been present and at work among us.

3. But from the history, God calls us into the possibilities that wait for us.

Move 2: I discovered that it took time and effort to figure out how to use the iPhone.

a. It was one thing to have the iPhone with all of its possibilities; it was another to take the time to figure out how to make it work.

1. In truth, I still don't use most of what it available on the iPhone.

2. I choose not to take the time or the effort necessary to figure it out, unless I really need it.

3. For example, as we begin our fall programming, I am helping out with communicating with our youth about their Sunday evening activities. I asked Kristyn, one of their leaders from last year what was the best way to communicate with them.

“Instagram,” she told me.

“Really?”

“Yes,” she said, “and you can do it from your iPhone.”

3. So now I have an Instagram app on my phone, an Instagram name, and I'm trying to figure out how how to use it.

b. It takes time and effort to follow the God of endless possibilities.

1. Moses is called to lead God's people out of bondage and to the Promised Land.

2. an incredible opportunity, a possibility he had never imagined, but it will take much effort on his part to figure out what God is doing with him and to live into his calling.

3. Part of the challenge of discipleship is figuring out what God is doing with us, taking the time to listen for God, and making the effort to follow.

4. We have to work at it.

5. Following God makes demands on us.

100. Of course, when I get stuck trying to figure something out with my iPhone, you know what I do?

1. I ask one of my kids. Generally speaking, they keep the eye rolls to a minimum and help me out as best they can.

2. if help us figure out how to follow God, we have the example of God's kid, Jesus Christ, the one God sent to live among us, both as an example of us about how to live and as the one who saves us.

3. when we speak of the God of endless possibilities, we do so with concrete example of how Jesus lived in the real world.

4. What Jesus asked real people like us to do.

Move 3: It's complicated

a. If all I wanted to do was dial a phone number on my iPhone, I suppose that would be rather simple.

1. although I still haven't figured out why my phone sometimes seems to call people on its own.

2. Not to mention all the pocket dialing I do.

3. But to discover the possibilities my phone offers is complicated.

b. it can be complicated following God.

1. this morning in confirmation class we began talking about God by discussing the mystery of the Trinity.

2. One God; three persons.

3. Paul writes to the Ephesians, "God is above all, through all, in all..."  (Ephesians 4: 6)  Sounds great, but a little hard to explain when you think about it.
4. Complicated theology.

b. If we believe God is engaged in our lives and our world, then it almost has to be complicated because we live in a complex world.

1. When we face unexpected tragedy, or we ponder our world in which peace seems so elusive and violence and terror seem to carry the day, or when we how difficult it is for people to get along, or when we wonder how that person who we admire can hold beliefs that we do not admire, we recognize how complex our world and the people in it are.

2. Likewise the God who is at work in our world, the God who calls us to new possibilities, that God is a complex God.

3. But that is our calling – to give our lives over to this God who is revealed to us, this God who calls us to lives of discipleship; this God who we can never fully understand, but who continues to engage us.

Conclusion: The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in her poem from “Aurora Leigh” writes, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees takes off his shoes, the rest sit round and pick blackberries, and daub their faces unaware.” http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/barrett/aurora/aurora.html