A few weeks back, I preached about maybe fasting
from social media and the devices that we use.
And in the book that I referenced, The Anxious
Generation, by the last name H -A -I -D -T, hate,
he talked about one of the things that our kids
have started losing is the risk of going out,
playing face -to -face, and being able to have
some risk -taking, and how that kind of shapes
how they deal with anxiety later. because they've
experienced some risk here, and that gives them
something to compare it to later. So that's a
really great thing for us to be praying about.
All right. Well, good morning. Again, my name
is Greg Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here.
If we've never met, I would love to meet. Put
it on your connection card that you're a first
-time guest. I'll follow up with you. I'd love
to buy you a coffee or soda, something like that,
and hear your story, get to know you. We're in
our third week of a series that we're calling
Desire Paths. And we're doing this series throughout
what's called Lent in the church calendar. It's
a 46 -day season in the church calendar when
we remind ourselves that we don't just live in
the resurrection of Jesus every day. We also
remember the suffering that Jesus experienced
on the way to that cross, on the way to that
resurrection. One of the ways that we remember
during Lent is by fasting. Fasting is when you
abstain from something that you think you need
or that you think that you want. Something that
might actually be difficult to give up. I remember
growing up and meeting different people and being
like, oh yeah, I'm giving up chocolate for Lent.
And I always thought like, oh, that's so silly.
But that's hard for some people. But consider,
what is something that might be difficult to
give up? Jesus taught his disciples to take up
their own cross to give up their own ways so
that they could live in his ways. There are plenty
of things that plenty of us are holding on to
that do not help us live like Jesus. I heard
someone say, say it again, pastor. There's plenty
of things that we hold on to that are not helping
us live like Jesus. Jesus. And so during Lent,
what we do is we fast. We pick something or some
things that we want to find out what place they
really have in our lives. Maybe we want to post
our opinion on social media and instead we lift
our voice to the Lord. We give that space, that
time to talking to Jesus. When we want to feed
our hearts with the food of fighting and complaining,
instead we open our mouths to receive something
better. From Jesus. We all have paths that we
have cut for ourselves. We all have desire paths
that we have created. Ruts that we have run through
someone else's grass. God's lawn, if you will.
Fasting is saying, I won't take my way. I will
follow Jesus. I will let go of this thing and
every time I want that thing. And the space that
thing took, I will think of and pray with Jesus.
And today's desire path is alcohol. Alcohol can
be a pretty divisive thing, not just in the world,
but in the church. Some teach that you should
never touch it. Others have kegs at their church
picnics. I'm not making that up. That's a real
thing. I have seen and experienced pretty much
all of that. I worked at a Lutheran church about
20 years ago. And I don't know if Cindy remembers
this or not, but we went to like a gathering
at the pastor's church. And it was like a church
gathering. It was at the pastor's house, the
lead pastor's house. And as soon as I got there,
the pastor's wife handed me a frozen daiquiri.
And I was like, oh, oh, okay. What's this? I've
never seen one of these. Wink, wink. On the other
side, when I was a worship pastor in Georgia,
I would go to watch Monday Night Football with
the senior pastor at the local bar and grill.
It wasn't that big of a town that we were in,
so there was really only one place to go. And
we would sit on the bar side because that's where
the TVs were. But he would not let me order a
beer because he was worried about what it would
look like. And I was like, we're already sitting
in the bar. Anyone that comes in and sees us
is going to think that we're drinking. So sweet
tea and Cokes it was. Did you know that in Georgia
that liquor stores are called what? They're called
package stores. The Bible Belt is so holy, they
will not put the word liquor, beer, or wine on
a sign outside of a building. I think maybe they've
started to change that. But I remember I was
so naive. I had no idea. And the package store
was maybe like... A hundred yards from the church
building that we moved into. And I had something
I needed to ship. And so I told someone, oh,
yeah, I'm going to take it to the package store
and ship it. It's so great that there's a package
store right next to the church. They're like,
Greg, why would you take your thing there? I
was like, because I need to ship it. Like, that's
not what they have there, man. That's a liquor
store. I was like, why does it say package store
then? And they said, because we're holy. No,
they didn't say that. The old joke goes, what's
the difference between a Lutheran and a Baptist?
The Lutheran will say hi to you in the liquor
store. It's funny, but it can be very divisive.
Alcoholism is an issue that hits close to home
for a lot of us. And whether we realize it or
not, we all know someone that is struggling with
alcohol. According to the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 30 million
people in the U .S. struggle with alcohol use
disorder. That's about 1 in 10 adults. Then about
140 ,000 people die every year from alcohol -related
causes. That's a lot. With those kinds of statistics,
you would think that the Bible would forbid alcohol
completely. But it does not. Psalm 104 says,
he makes grass grow for the cattle and plants
for people to cultivate, bringing forth food
from the earth, wine that gladdens human hearts,
oil to make their faces shine, and bread that
sustains their hearts. As it turns out, wine
is a gift that God gives his good creation. Chapter
2, some of you are familiar with this, that Jesus'
first miracle was what? Turning water into wine.
And not just any wine, it says, but the best
wine. Later, you have the Apostle Paul writing
to the pastor at Ephesus, young Timothy, and
telling him, you know, hey, I've heard that you're
having stomach problems. He says, stop drinking
only water, but drink a bit of wine to calm your
stomach. As far as the Bible is concerned, alcohol...
has its place. Because, like everything else
in God's good creation, it can be a good gift.
But the scriptures also make it abundantly obvious
that even gifts can be dangerous. Proverbs 20,
verse 1. Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler.
Whoever is led astray by them is not wise. We
just got done doing an entire series on wisdom.
Isaiah 5 .11 warns, Woe to those who rise early
in the morning to run after their drinks. Paul,
that wrote to Timothy, also said to that same
church in Ephesians 5 .18, Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit. It can be a gift. Alcohol
can also be the mountain cliff that you thought
was a molehill. Later today, look up what happened
to Abraham's nephew Lot when he was drunk. Look
up Elah. Look up Nabal. Look up Amnon. Look up
Belshazzar. Wine and drinking isn't prohibited
in the Bible, but drunkenness is universally
negative in the Scriptures. Because drunkenness
doesn't... just affect us, it has an impact on
the people around us. This is what Paul told
the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11. It
says this, verse 27, whoever therefore eats the
bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be answerable for the body and blood
of the Lord. Examine yourselves, he says, and
only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup
for all who eat and drink without discerning.
The body eat and drink judgment against themselves.
That unworthiness and examination. It sounds
like he's telling you to think about all your
sins. To make sure that your heart is clean and
you've repented. But that's only because we didn't
read the verses that come before this. When you
back up a few verses, you find the context is
this. Verse 20. When you came together, when
you come together, it is not really to eat the
Lord's Supper. For when the time comes to eat,
each of you proceeds to eat your own supper,
and one goes hungry while another becomes drunk.
What? Do you not have households to eat and drink
in? Or do you show contempt for the church of
God and humiliate those who have nothing? Paul
warns the church, how you eat communion is leaving
people out. Getting drunk leaves people out.
The people that get there late. The people that
are poor. The people that had less. They've come
to receive the bread and the wine of Jesus as
well, but you got drunk and you ate all the food
and you thought only of yourself. When he says
you're taking this in an unworthy manner, he's
not talking about eating communion without thinking
about your sin enough. He's saying you're taking
communion without thinking about each other enough.
When he says, for all who eat and drink without
discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against
themselves, the body he wants us to discern is
the body. It's each other. Because in their drunkenness,
they only thought of themselves. That is an unworthy
manner to receive this table. We don't have wine.
The Lutheran church I was at, they had wine.
We use juice, so presumably no one is going to
be getting inebriated on communion here. But
listen, the same heart condition that led the
Corinthians to drink and get drunk on the elements
of bread and wine and leave people out can exist
with crackers and juice. I heard someone say,
say it again, pastor. The same heart condition
that led them to act the way that they did with
bread and wine can exist with crackers and juice.
The same self -righteousness, the same selfishness,
the same pride, the same inconsiderate nature.
If we are honest, we can admit that we become
drunk on more than alcohol. We can be just as
drunk on self -righteousness and pride. and high
-minded theologies, but this table is for everyone.
That's why when I lead communion, I try to invite
different people to carry the trays around. I
hope that you've noticed. We invite everyone
that leads communion to invite different people
or to lead in different ways because we want
a diversity of how we experience the table in
this congregation. One of the ways that I do
it is that I invite different people. And sometimes
that's someone that's only been here for a couple
of weeks. Or I'll invite a teenager. Or I'll
invite a parent to help their small child carry
the tray around. Because who am I to say that
they haven't been here long enough, they don't
understand this enough. Or that they're not old
enough. Because I am 47 years old. I have been
a pastor for nearly 25 years. And I do not understand
this enough. It is a mystery of our faith. It
is not meant to be understood in high minds.
It is meant to be experienced in sober bodies.
When I say sober bodies, I don't mean that someone
that is drunk cannot come and receive it. I mean
sober of knowing. that this is for all of us,
that we are not drunk on our own ways, that we
are not drunk on our own desire paths, that we
are not drunk on our own thinking. So Paul, he's
asking them and he's asking us to be clear -headed,
aware of each other as we receive this, to consider
the body and to be present with. The body. Here's
the truth, whether we like it or not. And the
line is different for every single one of us
because every single one of us has a different
body, a different makeup. But when it comes to
alcohol, each of our bodies will respond differently
about how much we can receive before we get to
the point where we're not really present anymore.
I grew up with alcoholism in my home, and I asked
for permission to talk about this, and so no
one is surprised. I'm not outing anyone, but
I want to tell you a story. Last year, my mom
brought this over. I'm going to leave it up here
for anybody that wants to be awed at how cute
I was. There are many, many incriminating photos
of a young Greg in here. But there was something
that I noticed for the first time that I hadn't
noticed before, and I want to show you. This
first picture, Clara, it's a picture of Christmas
1987. I was nine years old. I'm there at the
top. My notes say, pause for oohing and aahing.
That plane, to that point in my life that I can
remember and recall, was the coolest gift that
I had ever... It was as big as me. I remember
taking it outside and throwing in it and would
do loop -de -loops. I'm pretty sure that it started
breaking within days because it was, in fact,
made of styrofoam. If you look, okay, I've also
got some bubble bath there. That was hot commodity
in 87. And then my sister's gifts are over here
on the right. You can see books. And clothes.
It was a good Christmas. Now, this next one,
this is a picture of Christmas 1988. Yes, I'm
wearing the same shirt. I do not know why. I
promise it was a different year. The difference
between the gifts is dramatic. There's other
pictures. You can see, if you come and look at
this, there's other photos that have the clothes
in it, that have the books. But this year, my
sister got an electronic keyboard, a typewriter.
I got an electronic keyboard that had a drum
machine in it. These were the biggest gifts that
we had ever, ever received. And then maybe if
you noticed in the top there, in the top left,
what's that? That is our Nintendo. That Nintendo
probably saved my life. The Nintendo was released
in 1986. This is Christmas what? 88. A full more
than two years after it was released nationwide.
My parents did not know, but in the summer I
was breaking into our neighbor's house so that
I could play their Nintendo. That's how badly
I wanted a Nintendo. I stopped after I accidentally
broke one of their windows. But this Nintendo,
that Nintendo probably saved me from a life of
crime. Like, I would probably be talking to Andy
for a completely different reason in my life
right now. Now, what I had never noticed before
was the timing from 87 to 88, because the reason
that there's such a jump from 87 to 88 is because
that's the year that my dad quit drinking. You
can afford a couple bigger gifts when some of
your finances isn't going to another place like
a bar. I'm not trying to make Christmas or even
getting sober about materialism because the other
thing that I hadn't put together until she brought
this over and I started looking at it was that
if my dad hadn't quit drinking, Christmas 88
would have been our first without him. See, because
that summer my mom told him. She drew a line.
She said, you lose your drink or you lose your
family. The biggest gift that we got that Christmas
wasn't a Nintendo, it was our dad. And it was
because my mom was brave enough to say so. For
some of us, the reality is that we don't want
to be present. We drink because we're trying
to forget where we are. Some of us don't want
to be present. We're drinking because we want
to forget where we are. Some of us, we drink
because we're in pain. Mentally, emotionally,
physically. Or maybe we're shy. Later, I asked
my dad why he quit drinking. And he said, well,
I had to choose my family. And he said, I drank
because I was shy. It made it easier for me to
have fun and feel like I was able to be that
guy. He said, if I had to choose between friends
at a bar and my wife and kids at home, I'd choose
my family. Some of us drink because we think
it makes us more present. This Lent, I wonder
if maybe God wants you to test that hypothesis.
Maybe it's time to fast from drinking and be
present to the Lord. You might also find out
who else needs you to be present. I had a friend
once that used to tell me that he needed to have
a couple drinks before he got home because it
made him a better dad. It made him more lighthearted,
made it easier for him to get along with his
kids, and I knew that he was wrong because I'd
lived it. So to those who drink responsibly,
giving up alcohol might be easy. Maybe you don't.
have a problem. And to that I say, I guess you'll
find out. You're not addicted, but that doesn't
mean you haven't learned to drink out of a habit.
I was telling Destiny before the service that
when I go to a baseball game, like the River
Bandits, or if I get to go see a Cubs game, I
have a tradition. I get a hot dog and a beer.
One hot dog, one beer. It's the tradition. I'm
at a ball game. You know, I don't know. What's
the line between habit and addiction? I know
that for myself that I'm going to choose for
the rest of Lent to abstain. I'm going to test
my hypothesis. Maybe you should join me. To those
who know they struggle with alcohol, you're not
alone. There is hope. There are people. There
are programs. There are people in this congregation
that will walk with you. And Jesus will help.
I encourage you to put it on your connection
card at the end. I'll follow up with you. I'll
help you get connected. I'll help you take next
steps. Just don't give up. Don't believe the
lie that this is all you'll ever have. To those
hurt by alcohol, healing is possible. It doesn't
erase the past, but God can redeem your past.
A few years back, I was at my dad's house and
we were out in the garage. And he asked me, he
said, hey, back when I was drinking, did I, and
then he filled in the blank. And I said, yeah,
yeah, that happened. He said he was sorry. And
I said, Dad, I've forgiven you for everything.
I don't hold anything against you. Because God
has redeemed all of that. God has redeemed me.
God has changed my heart. God has healed me.
And God has healed that man right there. He's
changed us. Listen, God will not hold what you
have done against you. He can redeem anything
that we have done. But if you are hurting someone
with your alcoholism right now, he wants you
to stop. And if you have been hurt, he wants
you to begin healing. And then to those who are
drunk in other ways, whether it be self -righteousness
or anything else. I want to remind you of your
baptism. Because in your baptism, you went down
into the waters of the grave of Christ. And your
old self died. And being raised from the waters,
you were brought to new life in Jesus Christ.
It is no longer you who lives, but Christ in
you that lives. You must no longer look at people
like the world looks at people. 2 Corinthians
5, 15. And he died for all, and those who live
should no longer live for themselves, but for
him who died for them and was raised again. 16.
So from now on, we regard no one according to
the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in
this way. We do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old
is gone. The new has come. If you have ever been
baptized, whatever you are drunk on died in those
waters. And I encourage you to remember that.
To let go of one drink and hold on to the water
that your body drank in. Let the water of the
Spirit fill you. Do not be drunk on wine, which
leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Holy
Spirit. If you've never been baptized, put it
on your card. Seven weeks from now, Mother's
Day, every year on Mother's Day, we do baptisms.
Maybe it's time. Maybe it's time for you to let
go of the old, to live in something new. This
Lent, there is a persistent question that we
are going to ask every week, whether explicitly
or just implicitly. The question is this, what
path will you take? The one that is well -worn
by our own hearts and habits. Or the one that
has been set by Jesus. Amen? Let's pray. Father,
I thank you for redemption. I thank you for salvation.
I thank you that you change people. I thank you
that I'm living a future right now because you
change people. I pray that every person in this
room would get a glimmer. A glimpse of the hope
of the future that you have for them. They are
living currently in something that's difficult.
I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit,
you would break, break any hold that alcoholism
and addictions have on us. That your spirit would
work in the way that your spirit works. Even
now that we would feel your spirit moving, breaking
it off, pulling up the roots, cutting off the
limbs, felling that weed, burning it away, till
all that remains is chaff and the purity of your
heart within us. Amen.