WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.440 All right, good morning, everybody. My name is 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.360 Greg Hampton. I am one of the pastors here at 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:09.800 the house. And if you see me squinting, it is 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.880 because I put on the wrong glasses today. These 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.640 are my glasses from five years ago. I went to 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:20.019 get, I usually go and get coffee on Sunday morning 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:22.839 and look through my notes. And I was looking, 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:25.920 I was like, you know, I sit maybe not even this 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:27.960 far from that wall from where like the menu is 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.379 and stuff or where people are ordering. And I 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:32.219 was like, taking my glasses off and cleaning 00:00:32.219 --> 00:00:35.100 them. And I put them back on, and I'm like, what 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:38.320 is wrong with my eyes today? I'm feeling that 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:41.060 everything's blurry. I started thinking, do I 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:43.200 suddenly have a blood sugar problem I don't know 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:44.920 about? And then I just realized, oh, no, these 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:48.020 are my old glasses. So if you see me squinting, 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:52.899 that is the reason. If we've never met, I would 00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:55.020 love to meet you, either before you head out 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.460 today. or I would love to buy you a coffee at 00:00:57.460 --> 00:00:59.320 a coffee shop or something like that, this week 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:01.060 I'll try to wear the right glasses so that I 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.239 can see well. We are in our fourth and final 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:07.280 week of our series that we're calling But Then 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.040 Jesus, because these are words that you see quite 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:12.140 often throughout the Gospels. You see then Jesus, 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:14.579 then they, but Jesus. When you put them together, 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:17.040 you get this idea that things were going in one 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.819 direction, and then Jesus decided this is something 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:23.340 that needs to be redirected. There's this moment. 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:26.239 where it's just like, okay, something needs to 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:28.840 change. And so today I just want to jump right 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.719 in to our scripture. Let's open up our Bibles 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.079 to Luke chapter 9, Luke 9. If you don't have 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:36.959 a Bible, there are blue Bibles on each of the 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.140 tables. There's also Bibles on the bookshelf 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:41.640 in the lobby that you are welcome to take home 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.459 with you if you need one. Otherwise, maybe download 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:47.939 one from one of the digital app stores. You can 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:51.090 really look at any version that you like. I believe 00:01:51.090 --> 00:01:52.870 that today's version I'm reading from is the 00:01:52.870 --> 00:01:55.790 New Living Translation. I really like the NRSVU 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.750 as well. This is Luke. It goes Matthew, Mark, 00:01:58.829 --> 00:02:01.269 Luke, John, Acts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Luke chapter 00:02:01.269 --> 00:02:03.790 9. All right, and we have a tradition of just 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:06.230 giving the scriptures our full attention. While 00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:08.849 they're read in the context of a sermon, you 00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:10.990 can do that any way you see fit. But if you'd 00:02:10.990 --> 00:02:13.349 like to stand with me as I read it, you're also 00:02:13.349 --> 00:02:17.409 welcome to do that. It says this, Luke 9, starting 00:02:17.409 --> 00:02:24.120 in verse 46. Then his disciples began arguing 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:27.340 about which of them was the greatest. But Jesus 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.159 knew their thoughts. We heard that last couple 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:31.639 weeks, didn't we? Jesus knew their thoughts, 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:35.900 so he brought a little child to his side. Then 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:37.599 he said to them, Anyone who welcomes a little 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.680 child like this on my behalf welcomes me. Anyone 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.240 who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.360 me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest. 00:02:47.419 --> 00:02:50.979 John said to Jesus, Master. We saw someone using 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:54.120 your name to cast out demons, but we told him 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:57.379 to stop because he isn't one of ours or in our 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:00.159 group. The NRSV says he does not follow with 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.340 us. Verse 50, but Jesus said, do not stop him. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:10.280 Anyone who is not against you is for you. Let 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.199 us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue, every 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:18.340 color, every nation, we thank you for the scriptures 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:20.919 that they have. that persisted throughout the 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:23.439 millennia that we still have them to read, to 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:25.800 consider, to learn from. And I pray that whatever 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.180 you have for us to learn today, that it would 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.759 stick, that it would become a part of the framework 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:33.759 of our faith as our faith becomes stronger, as 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:37.960 we become more like your son, Jesus. Amen. Thanks, 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:45.000 y 'all. You can have a seat. All right, a couple 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.840 weeks ago, I talked about Jesus and kids, so 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:53.770 I won't. preach that sermon again, but I'm going 00:03:53.770 --> 00:03:56.469 to hit the highlights, okay? Because it was in 00:03:56.469 --> 00:04:00.330 today's passage too. Because it is so, so, so 00:04:00.330 --> 00:04:03.810 with like 11 O's after, so important to bring 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:07.990 your kids to church. Every hour of church you 00:04:07.990 --> 00:04:11.090 can, because every hour of church for a kid counts. 00:04:11.870 --> 00:04:14.030 And it's not just because of the lessons. It's 00:04:14.030 --> 00:04:15.750 not just because of the teaching. It's because 00:04:15.750 --> 00:04:19.040 of the people that they get to be. in relationship 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:21.120 with and in family with. Last time I talked about 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.740 Rosalie and Levon, like the older grandma -aged 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:26.660 ladies at the church that I grew up that would 00:04:26.660 --> 00:04:29.319 hug me every Sunday that made me know that I 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.899 belonged there, even when I didn't know for sure. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:35.620 But there was also Chris Owens and Mark Kauzia. 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:38.879 When I was little, maybe third grade, I went 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.779 to a school called Temple Christian Academy, 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.560 and they had bring your grandparents to school 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.050 day. Anyone? Have that at their school growing 00:04:47.050 --> 00:04:48.870 up, bringing grandparents to school day. Well, 00:04:48.889 --> 00:04:51.930 my grandparents lived an hour away. And so I 00:04:51.930 --> 00:04:54.589 thought, I'm going to ask Chris Owens. Chris 00:04:54.589 --> 00:04:57.610 Owens was not a grandfather. Chris Owens was 00:04:57.610 --> 00:05:02.310 a brand new dad. Chris Owens was like 32 tops. 00:05:04.290 --> 00:05:06.829 He was like younger than Alex over here. Like 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:10.930 just 32 tops, but I just, I don't know. Eight, 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:12.829 nine -year -old Greg just thought he was awesome. 00:05:12.850 --> 00:05:14.990 And I'm like. Everyone's bringing their grandparents. 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:17.589 I'm going to bring up Chris Owens. And so I asked 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:21.350 Chris Owens at church, would you come for my 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:27.310 grandparents' day? All you guys in your 30s are 00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:32.550 like, what in the world? You think I'm 60? He 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:38.629 said yes. And he came and he was my grandpa for 00:05:38.629 --> 00:05:44.360 the day. Or Mark Calzia. My family, I didn't 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.060 have family that had gone away to college. And 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:49.300 so I'm talking to Mark Cowsey when I'm a senior 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:51.699 about, hey, what do you think I should do? He 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:53.319 said, well, my daughter goes to this school and 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:55.240 she seems to like it and you want to be in ministry 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.379 and it's a Bible school. Maybe you should check 00:05:57.379 --> 00:05:59.259 that out. And so I did. And then you know what? 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.600 You know who took me to my college campus preview? 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:06.160 Mark Cowsey. Do you know how far away that campus 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:12.300 was? Three hours. Right. He took me there and 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:16.860 back. Church is more than the lessons, y 'all. 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:22.980 Church is the people. And every kid will have 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:26.839 more hours going to school in one year than they 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:28.980 could have coming to church in their entire lives. 00:06:29.860 --> 00:06:32.639 So every hour counts because every relationship 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.079 becomes something that connects them to who God 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:41.839 is. All right, so I already preached that, so 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:45.889 I'll stop there, right? Let's look at those last 00:06:45.889 --> 00:06:48.730 two verses again. Verse 49 said this. John said 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:51.610 to Jesus, Master, we saw someone using your name 00:06:51.610 --> 00:06:56.569 to cast out demons, but we told him to stop. 00:06:56.790 --> 00:07:00.029 Aren't you proud of us? Because he isn't in our 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:05.069 group. But Jesus said, don't stop him. Anyone 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:10.149 who is not against you is for you. So why do 00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:14.000 the disciples want him? What are they worried 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.399 about? You've heard me say this before, but the 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.699 disciples are thinking that there's a rebellion 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:26.040 right around the corner. They're thinking, all 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.000 right, we've got to get ready for what Jesus 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.060 is about to do. So at the very least, part of 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:36.060 their concern is about who gets to use the power 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:40.420 that comes along with the name of Jesus. They 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:43.480 already know. that Jesus' name can cast out demons. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:46.699 They want to use his name to cast out an emperor 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:50.879 and the rulers that are controlling their country. 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:54.819 And it's noble. It's noble. It is noble to care 00:07:54.819 --> 00:07:58.279 if your country is free. It is noble to care 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:03.720 if someone will dilute that possibility by hijacking 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:08.360 the name and power of the leader that might give 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.810 you freedom. That's a lot of the problems that 00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:13.310 we're experiencing in the world today, around 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:16.629 the world, in America and other places. We see 00:08:16.629 --> 00:08:19.529 the way that Christianity or religion gets used, 00:08:19.670 --> 00:08:23.730 the way that the power of a name gets used. And 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:25.370 everyone argues with each other about who gets 00:08:25.370 --> 00:08:29.509 the right to the power of Jesus' name. But I 00:08:29.509 --> 00:08:31.889 think their primary concern is actually far less 00:08:31.889 --> 00:08:35.409 noble than that. Because if you back up in this 00:08:35.409 --> 00:08:38.080 passage to the parts that we didn't read, The 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.759 part just before what we read today, you'll actually 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:44.700 see that a dad. Why did Jesus bring a kid in 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:46.059 front of him? Well, it's because someone had 00:08:46.059 --> 00:08:49.240 brought some kids. It says that a dad brought 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:53.620 his son and asked Jesus, can you heal my son? 00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:57.740 He's possessed by a demon. And then he says in 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:02.759 verse 40, I asked your disciples. Actually, he 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:07.220 says, I begged your disciples to cast it out. 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:13.940 But they could not. Nine verses later, the disciples 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:18.039 see another guy, some guy they don't know, succeeding 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.559 in casting out a demon where they had failed. 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:26.820 I think the deeper issue here is that the disciples 00:09:26.820 --> 00:09:32.120 feel insecure. They feel embarrassed. Maybe they 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:35.879 even feel ashamed and afraid. They're thinking, 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:38.960 we follow Jesus. We're the disciples, aren't 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:45.279 we? Aren't we the ones that do and believe the 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.200 right things? What if people don't follow Jesus 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:53.820 because we failed? What if that guy over there 00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:59.600 has the wrong motives? What if he doesn't believe 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:01.519 all the right things? Even though he did the 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:04.440 right thing, but what if he doesn't believe all 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:05.840 the right things because he doesn't run with 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:09.139 us? What if people end up believing the wrong 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:11.200 things because that guy did something good in 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:17.620 the name of Jesus? Shame and disappointment about 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:20.320 our own failures can lead us to have a lot of 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:26.519 feelings about other people. Shame and disappointment 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:30.639 and fear make us do a lot of funny things, like 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:33.200 trying to stop someone from healing someone in 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.379 the name of Jesus because we do not know them. 00:10:38.990 --> 00:10:41.350 It's not all that different from the kind of 00:10:41.350 --> 00:10:45.190 thing that happens today. We might see someone 00:10:45.190 --> 00:10:47.750 doing something good, even in the name of Jesus, 00:10:47.929 --> 00:10:51.750 and maybe we question their motives. Maybe they're 00:10:51.750 --> 00:10:54.230 not from the right church or denomination or 00:10:54.230 --> 00:10:58.570 background or religion. Modern Christianity is 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:00.950 still just as obsessed with being right, being 00:11:00.950 --> 00:11:04.830 the only ones, just like the first disciples 00:11:04.830 --> 00:11:12.210 were. Listen, I think that it is logical to admit 00:11:12.210 --> 00:11:16.190 that there are too many thousands of kinds of 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:20.750 Christianity around the world to expect that 00:11:20.750 --> 00:11:25.850 any one of us has everything right. The reason 00:11:25.850 --> 00:11:27.730 there are so many different ones is because they're 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:29.090 like, you're wrong about that, we're starting 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:32.649 our own thing. Matter of fact, I've shown this 00:11:32.649 --> 00:11:35.070 before, but I love this meme. Put that up there, 00:11:35.110 --> 00:11:39.860 Kathy, it's the best. So that is a graph on the 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:42.500 left of church history, Christian movements. 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.799 Right there at the end, the speaker says, and 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:47.899 this is where our movement came along and got 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:52.299 the Bible right. And the people sitting there, 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:58.860 Jesus is so lucky to have us. This is how we 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:01.580 can be sometimes, y 'all. This is how we can 00:12:01.580 --> 00:12:04.279 think about our beliefs. So I actually thought 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:06.500 that we should spend a little bit of time talking 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:10.990 about, How to believe and how to order what it 00:12:10.990 --> 00:12:14.929 is that we believe. And I shared this tool five 00:12:14.929 --> 00:12:17.289 years ago, but you know what? I don't know how 00:12:17.289 --> 00:12:19.169 many of you were here five years ago on that 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:22.629 Sunday. And so I'm going to share it again. This 00:12:22.629 --> 00:12:26.309 is a tool that's called Fido, F -I -D -O. And 00:12:26.309 --> 00:12:30.409 Fido helps us put our beliefs into categories 00:12:30.409 --> 00:12:34.730 in context with each other. And the most important 00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:38.340 spot in Fido. are the foundations. This first 00:12:38.340 --> 00:12:47.159 one, F, foundations. And foundations are exactly 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:50.559 what they sound like, right? These are the foundational 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:55.159 ideas of what it means to be a Christian. So 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.779 for instance, we read the Nicene Creed. I asked 00:12:57.779 --> 00:13:00.179 you, hey, is there a part in that that's hard 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:02.320 for you to believe? Well, I've got good news. 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:06.389 The most basic foundational thing about being 00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:10.250 a christian is do you follow jesus if you follow 00:13:10.250 --> 00:13:14.169 that's it do you follow jesus if you follow jesus 00:13:14.169 --> 00:13:17.009 you are a christian because a christian very 00:13:17.009 --> 00:13:21.570 literally is a follower of jesus the christ a 00:13:21.570 --> 00:13:24.610 little christ other things in that category we 00:13:24.610 --> 00:13:26.509 could say that all right it's foundational that 00:13:26.509 --> 00:13:29.789 jesus is god we could say that uh foundational 00:13:29.789 --> 00:13:33.370 idea is that he had he was crucified or that 00:13:33.370 --> 00:13:37.090 he was resurrected, or like in the Nicene Creed, 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:39.309 how it starts. At the very beginning, we could 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.289 say that it's a foundational idea to believe 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:46.289 that God is the creator of the heavens and the 00:13:46.289 --> 00:13:49.409 earth. But maybe you also notice that the first 00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:53.350 circle is pretty small, right? You see how small 00:13:53.350 --> 00:13:59.029 that circle is? There aren't that many things 00:13:59.029 --> 00:14:03.659 that need to go in that circle, y 'all. But we 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:05.559 do believe a lot of things, don't we? We believe 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:07.120 a lot more than just the three things I just 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:10.639 mentioned. And so around that circle is a bigger 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:14.539 circle that's called interpretations. Interpretations 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:19.179 answer the question, how or why? Things like, 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:26.799 all right, Jesus is God, but how? How? How? He's 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.580 historically, biblical scholars agree, he's a 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:34.200 person that existed. They would say, just generally 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:36.159 speaking, scholars would go, he was a human being. 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:41.019 Christians would say he was also God. How? Right? 00:14:41.059 --> 00:14:44.440 There's interpretations that are required to 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:46.159 go, okay, I'm going to look at these passages, 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:49.299 and then I'm going to explain how it is that 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:52.799 Jesus is God. What does it mean for Jesus to 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.759 be God and man? That's an interpretation. What 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.360 does it mean that he was born of a virgin, of 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.179 Mary? There's interpretations. Around it, it's 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:03.779 a foundational idea that Jesus is God, but how 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:08.799 that is true is a matter of interpretations or 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:11.379 creation, right? We believe in God the Father, 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.379 creator of heaven and earth. You'll notice that 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:17.179 the Nicene Creed doesn't say very much about 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:20.059 it. It just says that is what we believe. It 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:22.200 doesn't get into the nitty -gritty of exactly 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:26.120 how that happened. Was it six literal days? Was 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:29.620 it eras? Did God use evolution? Did he set off 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.899 a big bang? These are things that as people of 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:36.460 faith believe that God created, there's interpretation 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:41.820 that we can hold to about the concept that God 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:45.940 created. Or we could ask, okay, what does it 00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.860 mean that Jesus was crucified for our sins? Why 00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:51.919 does it matter that he was resurrected? Which 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:54.960 version of the atonement theory is correct? If 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.519 there is a hell, is it a permanent punishment 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.879 or is it a permanent judgment because those two 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.940 things aren't necessarily the same? Or under 00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:07.000 interpretations, we could talk about what the 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:12.700 Bible says about social issues. Not all, but 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:15.659 most evangelicals, Anglicans, and Baptists believe 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:18.460 that same -sex attraction is wrong because of 00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:21.679 the way they interpret the Bible. But then not 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:25.059 all, but most, Episcopals, Methodists, Presbyterians, 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:27.360 Lutherans, and others, including myself, interpret 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.840 the scriptures differently. We interpret and 00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:32.759 understand the context of the scriptures in a 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:36.259 way that makes room for the LGBTQ community to 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:40.299 be fully included without limits, in part because 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:44.460 we see that the same way scripture was interpreted 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:50.110 in the past to exclude the LGBTQIA community. 00:16:50.269 --> 00:16:53.789 Before that, it was used to exclude women from 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:58.070 preaching. Last week, Pastor Marissa preached. 00:16:58.289 --> 00:17:02.629 The week before that, Pastor Jen preached. Before 00:17:02.629 --> 00:17:06.349 that, it was used to exclude interracial couples 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:13.369 from marrying. It wasn't that long ago that interpretations 00:17:13.369 --> 00:17:18.380 of the Bible were the foundational idea for justifying 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:23.099 and even encouraging slavery or Jim Crow or segregation. 00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:27.859 Some people in this room were alive when segregation 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:31.579 was legally ended in our country. It was not 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:36.380 that long ago that the Bible was used to justify 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:42.220 those things. They are matters of interpretation. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:47.190 And then... Around the circle of interpretations, 00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:52.930 we have the D for deductions. These are the things 00:17:52.930 --> 00:17:56.130 that maybe don't have more than one verse that 00:17:56.130 --> 00:17:58.769 speak directly to it or about it. Maybe it's 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:01.289 even something there is not a single verse that 00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:03.670 says something specifically about it. These are 00:18:03.670 --> 00:18:05.250 the things that people are like, Sherlock Holmes 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:09.309 in it. They're like, all right, half this verse 00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:11.930 over here. half that verse over there, and this 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:14.269 one smells kind of like it means that, and so 00:18:14.269 --> 00:18:18.589 this is what it obviously means, right? These 00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:20.490 are things like, we know that Jesus said that 00:18:20.490 --> 00:18:22.349 no one knows when he will return, but that doesn't 00:18:22.349 --> 00:18:25.670 stop people from deducing, based on the signs 00:18:25.670 --> 00:18:30.650 and times, when Jesus will return. I have lost 00:18:30.650 --> 00:18:33.930 track of how many times in my lifetime, I'm 48, 00:18:34.190 --> 00:18:37.130 just in my own lifetime, how many times war in 00:18:37.130 --> 00:18:39.599 the Middle East has been used to explain why 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:43.359 Jesus is coming back soon. It's a deduction. 00:18:44.420 --> 00:18:47.619 Or maybe someone deduces what candidate you should 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:50.200 vote for or how many drinks or cigarettes you 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.880 can have or how far you can go with your boyfriend 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:57.180 or girlfriend before it's sin. They're deductions. 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.539 Now, it doesn't mean deductions and opinions 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.740 are not important. It just means that they belong 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:05.680 in certain places that do not exclude people 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:10.460 from the centrality. of being a Christian. And 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:13.660 then last, around our foundations and our interpretations 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:17.259 and deductions are our opinions. You've heard 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:19.079 it said, opinions are like noses. We all have 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.720 one and they all smell. There are other ways 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.119 to say that. I chose the appropriate one because 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:29.160 there's children in the room. Opinions are things 00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:32.380 like, what kind of music should we play? Should 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:34.559 we do hymns? Should we have an organ? Should 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.759 we have acoustic guitar and drums? These are 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:46.960 opinions. Maybe on the more important side of 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:52.019 that is how often should we have baptisms? How 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:53.940 often should we share communion with each other? 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:57.039 We know that those are things that are central 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.799 to our faith, but it becomes an opinion about 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.400 how often those things need to happen. Now when 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:08.309 I... felt called to start this church, and we 00:20:08.309 --> 00:20:11.450 came together and planted this church, we decided 00:20:11.450 --> 00:20:14.049 it's going to be our tradition that we receive 00:20:14.049 --> 00:20:17.670 communion every week. Because we didn't want 00:20:17.670 --> 00:20:21.170 to go a week without being reminded of the goodness 00:20:21.170 --> 00:20:24.750 of what Jesus had done. But when it comes down 00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:29.170 to it, there's no reason for us to go, that's 00:20:29.170 --> 00:20:32.890 gospel. It has to be done every week or we are 00:20:32.890 --> 00:20:37.700 wrong. We need to remember that the differences 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:44.279 between our beliefs are just that. They're interpretations. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:48.720 They're often deductions. And they're often opinions. 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:52.180 And they are not meant to stake our faith in 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:58.500 Jesus on. Now, part of why it's wise to keep 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:01.599 this in mind is that on this next slide, you'll 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.750 see that the IDO. That's what I do. Or you could 00:21:06.750 --> 00:21:08.970 point at yourself. You go, everyone, one, two, 00:21:09.009 --> 00:21:10.349 three, point at yourself and go, that's what 00:21:10.349 --> 00:21:14.410 I do. Yeah. Who's got two thumbs and has opinions? 00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:19.509 This guy, right? It's all of us. Who's got two 00:21:19.509 --> 00:21:21.130 thumbs and has got some deductions about what 00:21:21.130 --> 00:21:25.930 the Bible means? Who's got two thumbs and has 00:21:25.930 --> 00:21:28.029 got some interpretations that don't line up with 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:30.910 some other people's interpretations? That's all 00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:36.470 of us. These are the three things that for sure 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:43.130 we go, those are the things that I'm doing. The 00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:45.470 trouble is that we often make the things that 00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:49.230 I do the things that say that they don't belong. 00:21:57.470 --> 00:22:01.029 I know that sometimes Greg's being hyperbolic. 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:07.680 In other words, Greg's exaggerating. And in a 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:10.460 sermon, when you've got 25 minutes to talk about 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:12.180 something, sometimes you have to be hyperbolic. 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:21.279 But I am not being hyperbolic about this. It 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:24.480 is so often that we use the beliefs that I do 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:31.950 to say that they don't. Last year, I started 00:22:31.950 --> 00:22:35.289 leading a cohort of pastors, September to April. 00:22:35.710 --> 00:22:38.589 And right now I'm putting together a new cohort 00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:41.809 of ministry leaders that will meet between September 00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:46.589 and April to pray and discern about what God 00:22:46.589 --> 00:22:48.589 might want to be doing in the kingdom of God 00:22:48.589 --> 00:22:51.349 here in the Quad Cities. And so what that means 00:22:51.349 --> 00:22:53.930 is that I'm reaching out to some pastors that 00:22:53.930 --> 00:22:55.789 I don't know, that I didn't previously know. 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.740 And one of the goals is for that room to be full 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:01.460 of people that are ethnically diverse, gender 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:04.720 diverse, Christian background diverse. The point 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.519 is for it to be ecumenical, meaning that we don't 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.579 all believe the same things or come from the 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:16.420 same places. I felt long and hard about whether 00:23:16.420 --> 00:23:18.119 I should share this with you because three weeks 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:20.539 ago when I preached, I bragged on another church. 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:24.579 Do you remember that? Today, I don't have good 00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:27.990 news, y 'all. And I'm not going to share names 00:23:27.990 --> 00:23:33.349 or churches. I won't even imply. But I want to 00:23:33.349 --> 00:23:37.250 share with you what the reality is that is happening 00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:41.569 in the kingdom. I reached out to these different 00:23:41.569 --> 00:23:44.589 pastors, and I got this email. It said this. 00:23:45.670 --> 00:23:48.109 While I understand and agree with the importance 00:23:48.109 --> 00:23:51.210 of this kind of group, I do have to draw the 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:53.980 line and do not think I can sit with. those who 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:56.519 are at odds with our churches and Christianities, 00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:59.859 historical and orthodox understanding, and theology. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.200 These are beliefs. He's talking about beliefs. 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:06.440 I can't sit down with people that disagree with 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:09.299 these beliefs. And he says on these three things, 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:12.859 on human sexuality, sexual and gender identity, 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:17.460 and the sanctity of life. And just in case you 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:19.500 think that people only say things like this in 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:22.609 emails or online. I was on the phone with someone 00:24:22.609 --> 00:24:24.529 on Friday, inviting them to see if they would 00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:27.910 like to be a part of this cohort. And they said, 00:24:27.950 --> 00:24:30.130 you mentioned it being diverse. Does that mean 00:24:30.130 --> 00:24:32.430 it will include homosexuals and trans? I don't 00:24:32.430 --> 00:24:34.250 think that I can pray with them because they're 00:24:34.250 --> 00:24:41.509 praying to a different God. Listen, let me be 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:44.670 clear. None of their objections, none of the 00:24:44.670 --> 00:24:46.390 things and the idea over them, none of those 00:24:46.390 --> 00:24:48.670 beliefs, none of those things are central or 00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:51.279 foundational. to whether you have a relationship 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:55.359 with Jesus or not. None of those things will 00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:58.200 change, you know, hyperbolically. When you walk 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:00.400 up to the pearly gates, whether Peter will let 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.920 you in or not. Believe in Jesus. You follow with 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:10.960 Jesus. That's the most important. Now I think 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.059 that there's something more uncomfortable that 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:18.369 I should say. Those two people were from different 00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:20.549 denominations. They're from different ages and 00:25:20.549 --> 00:25:24.410 generations even. And I believe that they both 00:25:24.410 --> 00:25:28.730 love Jesus. And I believe that they are both 00:25:28.730 --> 00:25:31.190 doing their very best to lead their congregations 00:25:31.190 --> 00:25:34.049 in the way that they believe to be the best. 00:25:35.650 --> 00:25:38.230 They have in their life and in their faith and 00:25:38.230 --> 00:25:41.130 in their doctrine and in their study, they have 00:25:41.130 --> 00:25:43.029 fallen in different places in those circles. 00:25:45.230 --> 00:25:49.630 And I'm not bashing them. I want you to understand 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:54.589 that Jesus loves them. And Jesus includes them. 00:25:56.650 --> 00:25:59.230 That when something about how someone else believes 00:25:59.230 --> 00:26:02.950 in Jesus excludes somebody else, Jesus is still 00:26:02.950 --> 00:26:06.869 trying to include that person. He's still trying 00:26:06.869 --> 00:26:11.230 to pull that person in and say, look, my body 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:15.059 and my blood is for you. Look, look. Look what 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:18.019 I did for you. You might not yet understand that 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:20.500 it is also for them, but look what I did for 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:24.480 you. You belong. You can be in the kingdom. And 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:26.160 listen, y 'all, there's going to be a lot of 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:29.859 really surprised eyes and looks when people experience 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.660 the fullness of God because they're going to 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:34.700 look across the fullness and glory of God and 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:37.180 see people they did not know were praying to 00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:41.720 the same God as them. And you know what they 00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:45.539 will feel in that moment? It will not be what 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:48.900 the disciples felt. It will not be shame or fear 00:26:48.900 --> 00:26:53.559 or embarrassment. It will be joy because they 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:55.539 will be in the fullness of the presence of God. 00:26:56.140 --> 00:26:59.259 And their mind will be that of Christ. And they 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:01.539 will realize in that moment, not that they should 00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:06.200 feel shame that they excluded, but joy that now 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:16.369 I see the truth. And that is what we are trying 00:27:16.369 --> 00:27:20.250 to bring. The will of God as it is in heaven. 00:27:22.430 --> 00:27:27.190 On earth. And if any part of us thinks inside 00:27:27.190 --> 00:27:30.130 of the interpretation, deduction, opinions, if 00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:32.910 any part of us believes there is the chance that 00:27:32.910 --> 00:27:35.049 they will all, the people that we have excluded 00:27:35.049 --> 00:27:38.450 will be with us, then we should treat them now 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:48.750 like they belong with us here. Because Jesus 00:27:48.750 --> 00:27:50.890 keeps on bringing children into their midst. 00:27:53.390 --> 00:27:56.130 Kids don't understand the hypostatic union, y 00:27:56.130 --> 00:28:00.430 'all. Kids don't understand whether it's transubstantiation 00:28:00.430 --> 00:28:05.170 or consubstantiation. People do not understand 00:28:05.170 --> 00:28:10.869 incarnational ministry. And yet, they know how 00:28:10.869 --> 00:28:16.829 to believe in Jesus. Because our beliefs are 00:28:16.829 --> 00:28:27.109 not our God, Jesus is. Let us find ourselves 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:31.730 caring about what finds its way into the foundations 00:28:31.730 --> 00:28:35.569 and accepting the idea that all of these other 00:28:35.569 --> 00:28:39.650 things that I do are held loosely with open hands. 00:28:40.410 --> 00:28:43.779 And the more loosely... We hold these things 00:28:43.779 --> 00:28:46.160 knowing that they are not the foundation. The 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:50.319 wider we will find our arms, that we might embrace 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:54.160 all of those that find themselves drawn into 00:28:54.160 --> 00:29:12.119 the circle of Christ. Let's pray. Good God. I 00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:15.180 believe that we will be together. The fullness 00:29:15.180 --> 00:29:20.539 of your glory will be so joyous. I pray that 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:26.400 we walk with kindness. That we walk with wide 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:34.359 arms. That we confess and even repent of the 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:37.319 times and places that we are prideful about being 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:41.700 right. And that we would find your gentleness, 00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:50.720 the fruit of your spirit, gentleness. And we 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:54.119 might be kind to ourselves. That we might let 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:57.019 go of the shame and fear and embarrassment that 00:29:57.019 --> 00:30:01.240 we have felt. That we might instead receive the 00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:06.740 love, the joy, the peace that you give. And let 00:30:06.740 --> 00:30:08.599 us share that fruit with all of those around 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:12.549 us. In the name of Jesus, amen.