Pentecost 22
year B Sermon Deuteronomy 4:9 Matthew 28:16-20 2 Corinthians 1:1-4
On that windy mountain top in Galilee…
after the resurrection
Jesus followers are set apart…
just as the bread and wine were set
apart at the last supper...they’re
set apart
by Jesus’ call to go into all the world to
by Jesus’ call to go into all the world to
Slide words
make disciples of all nations... teach them to obey everything
I commanded you.
It’s a group task…no one could possibly do it alone…Jesus never sent them out alone…And what’s more… Jesus promised to be with them...and assured them of the empowering of the Holy Spirit…
I commanded you.
It’s a group task…no one could possibly do it alone…Jesus never sent them out alone…And what’s more… Jesus promised to be with them...and assured them of the empowering of the Holy Spirit…
Blank slide
Obviously the Gospels hadn’t been written yet…so for the next ten years at least… with God’s help…
they’d have to rely on memory
…they’d have to repeat Jesus teaching… and practice Jesus commandments…Jesus way of living and relating to people …until they knew it by heart. Step by step…one day at a time.
Obviously the Gospels hadn’t been written yet…so for the next ten years at least… with God’s help…
they’d have to rely on memory
…they’d have to repeat Jesus teaching… and practice Jesus commandments…Jesus way of living and relating to people …until they knew it by heart. Step by step…one day at a time.
The disciples had experienced a
spiritual awakening…
in the presence of the risen Christ…
a change of spiritual perspective…
one they couldn’t get their heads around while Jesus was alive…
in the presence of the risen Christ…
a change of spiritual perspective…
one they couldn’t get their heads around while Jesus was alive…
Now their view of reality is changed completely…
now they possess
now they possess
Slide words
the wisdom…
to recognised the limits of human
power…
politically and spiritually…
politically and spiritually…
Once scattered by the fear of being associated with Jesus…
they’d been restored to community…
by breaking bread with the risen Christ…
they’d been restored to community…
by breaking bread with the risen Christ…
Having had a spiritual awakening...
they’d surrender their will and their lives to Jesus way…
they’d repent of their doubt and disbelief…their betrayal…
they’d willingly submit …to whatever the Holy Spirit
wanted to do in them…or call them to do… [pause]
Resolving in obedience to
Christ… to follow his way…
to do justice and love mercy and walk humbly before God with one another.
They became peace makers…bringers of shalom and wellbeing
and because there was no written Gospel…
they would practise… practise… practise…
this good-news-way-of life…together in community
to do justice and love mercy and walk humbly before God with one another.
They became peace makers…bringers of shalom and wellbeing
and because there was no written Gospel…
they would practise… practise… practise…
this good-news-way-of life…together in community
until they had it down…
And right throughout the process… Jesus disciples never stop changing and growing… in their understanding
Unlike their justification which was accomplished by the incarnate Christ in the person of Jesus…
their conversion never stops…
their sanctification is always progressive …
their setting apart never just a moment in time…
but a life-long process of transformation…
not self transformation…as Paul reminds us…
slide words
it’s God who works in you… to will and to act…
in order to fulfil God’s good purpose. [pause]
Unlike their justification which was accomplished by the incarnate Christ in the person of Jesus…
their conversion never stops…
their sanctification is always progressive …
their setting apart never just a moment in time…
but a life-long process of transformation…
not self transformation…as Paul reminds us…
slide words
it’s God who works in you… to will and to act…
in order to fulfil God’s good purpose. [pause]
And what else… would result from
this transformation
of heart and mind and spirit…what else did Jesus ask of them
there on that mountain top in Galilee? Do you remember?
of heart and mind and spirit…what else did Jesus ask of them
there on that mountain top in Galilee? Do you remember?
[pause]
That’s right…having had a spiritual awakening
as a result of the steps they’d taken along Jesus way…
as a result of the steps they’d taken along Jesus way…
Slide words list again
they were now to carry his message…
to others…to family, friends, neighbours, communities…
even to the ends of the earth…
baptising the whole world in Jesus name.
to others…to family, friends, neighbours, communities…
even to the ends of the earth…
baptising the whole world in Jesus name.
And having had a spiritual awakening…
they wanted to carry the message…not out of religious duty…
but because their lives had changed so much…
How did Paul put it in our reading today? Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
but because their lives had changed so much…
How did Paul put it in our reading today? Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
slide words
so we
can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
so we
can comfort those in any
trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
12 step slide
And with Jesus first disciples…
we arrive at the final step of twelve steps…
toward serenity and wholeness...in life with God.
we arrive at the final step of twelve steps…
toward serenity and wholeness...in life with God.
twelve spiritual tools…a rule of life modelled on the
life and teachings of Jesus…for faithfully following his way.
Over the past twelve weeks…we’ve seen how these steps work
…how they build on one another…
one step at a time…to grow us individually and corporately …into a global family… of disciplined disciples…
a Body of Christ followers…who can fulfil our calling
to carry the good news of God’s love…to the ends of the earth.
one step at a time…to grow us individually and corporately …into a global family… of disciplined disciples…
a Body of Christ followers…who can fulfil our calling
to carry the good news of God’s love…to the ends of the earth.
Reveal list slide
this side of
the resurrection When we take step one…
like Jesus’ disciples there on that mountain top…
we can see more clearly…the limits of human power…
So every day we pray for the wisdom to discern
what we can and can’t control.
like Jesus’ disciples there on that mountain top…
we can see more clearly…the limits of human power…
So every day we pray for the wisdom to discern
what we can and can’t control.
Reveal restoration
This wisdom we pray for…allows us to accept our brokenness and the brokenness of all humanity…and with the first disciples we pray for ourselves and for the world…
for the restoration to wholeness…only God can bring
reveal surrender
Then…in step three…convinced
of our utter dependence
on God…and the superiority of God’s wisdom over our own …we surrender our will and our lives to the care of God
on God…and the superiority of God’s wisdom over our own …we surrender our will and our lives to the care of God
reveal reflection
strengthened in faith by this partnership with God…
we can without fear…reflect honestly on our motives and actions…past and present …good and bad.
we can without fear…reflect honestly on our motives and actions…past and present …good and bad.
reveal confession
and taking step five… in
holy confession we humbly bring the
whole truth about ourselves
before God [pause]
reveal willingness
and consent together
And in the dazzling light of
God’s forgiveness and mercy the willingness
is created in us…to take step six…
to submit to every change God wants to make in us.
And we say yes…in trust we consent…
praying for God to re-shape us so God’s justice and peace can be worked through us.
to submit to every change God wants to make in us.
And we say yes…in trust we consent…
praying for God to re-shape us so God’s justice and peace can be worked through us.
Reveal Resolve and Make peace
And like the first disciples… we resolve to do justice …and bring reconciliation…We get right out of human courtrooms all together… and leave judgement of ourselves and others…up to God
Like Paul…we’ve been made right…
we’ve been justified through faith in God’s grace…
grace revealed…announced…and accomplished by Jesus.
We have a new identity in Christ…
we’re no longer defined by others…nor even by ourselves
We renounce judgment and the need for self-defence…
always promptly admitting it when we stray from Jesus’ teaching.
And as he taught us to pray…on another mountain top…
we participate in the reign of God by offering others …
the grace and forgiveness we have received.
we’ve been justified through faith in God’s grace…
grace revealed…announced…and accomplished by Jesus.
We have a new identity in Christ…
we’re no longer defined by others…nor even by ourselves
We renounce judgment and the need for self-defence…
always promptly admitting it when we stray from Jesus’ teaching.
And as he taught us to pray…on another mountain top…
we participate in the reign of God by offering others …
the grace and forgiveness we have received.
All these steps we take in freedom…
all part of a process… of spiritual transformation
as we commit ourselves to these God ordained
disciplines of grace…not just for ourselves but for the salvation of the world
So last week taking Step eleven…in daily prayer…
study and stillness…we listen for God’s guidance, and try to improve our conscious contact with God every day…praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us…
and the power to carry that out.
study and stillness…we listen for God’s guidance, and try to improve our conscious contact with God every day…praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us…
and the power to carry that out.
And in time… with enough practise…we become the kind of person…who
naturally and freely expresses…
What Paul calls the fruits of the spirit…love joy peace patience, kindness generosity faithfulness gentleness and self-control.
What Paul calls the fruits of the spirit…love joy peace patience, kindness generosity faithfulness gentleness and self-control.
And when the world is grinding us down with its demands…we don’t abandon our spiritual practise…
we spend even longer in prayer and silence before God.
we spend even longer in prayer and silence before God.
As we learned last week…these steps become
our rule of life…preparing us for the call of Christ …contained in the twelfth step…
like Jesus first disciples
our rule of life…preparing us for the call of Christ …contained in the twelfth step…
like Jesus first disciples
Slide words
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps,
we carry this good news to others, and practise these disciplines in all areas of our lives.
we carry this good news to others, and practise these disciplines in all areas of our lives.
We hear again Jesus call…intended for
us…all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
With God’s help…I’ve been trying to
practise these steps since 1977 when my life was at its lowest ebb. I can
testify that they bring serenity and wholeness in life with God…and when I lose
it…they bring it back with God’s help…
And I’d like these steps to be fundamental
to our life together in this church
World slide
World slide
And as I found…we can’t share Jesus’ saving message effectively until we’ve lived it ourselves…one step at a time
…over and over again. and when we are ready and able
to share the freedom and healing we’ve found…
as we carry the message to others…as we widen the circle around Jesus…then one by one…as our children and our grandchildren
…our friends and our neighbours…our co-workers…
maybe even our community and our nation … join us…
on the path laid down by Jesus…
…over and over again. and when we are ready and able
to share the freedom and healing we’ve found…
as we carry the message to others…as we widen the circle around Jesus…then one by one…as our children and our grandchildren
…our friends and our neighbours…our co-workers…
maybe even our community and our nation … join us…
on the path laid down by Jesus…
by his wounds and by the grace of God …
all creation will be saved.
all creation will be saved.
Let us say the Serenity prayer together
Preachers note: Of course these steps have been adapted from the 12 Steps originally developed by the Oxford Group last century and later adapted by Bill Wilson. I myself first encountered them in the fellowship established by Bill's wife Lois.
