Cry of Tiny Babe

December 23, 2007
George J. Saylor
(This sermon was presented in dramatic form as a first-person narrative. The person is none other than God. While I was hesitant at first to take this perspective, the biblical account gives so much insight into the birth of Jesus, and into the character or God, that I ultimately determined that this could be done in a reverend and faithful way.)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25

I love that child . I so want to help him. He is so full of anger; so full of pain. He wasn’t always this way. I remember watching him play. Watching him discover the beauty and joy of the world- of my world. He could sit for hours watching the ants at work- wondering, just wondering. What were they doing? What drove them to work so hard? And nobody loved the stars as much as he did. At night, when none else was awake, when it was only the two of us, we would stare out into the night sky wondering, and marveling at it all.

To me it is as yesterday, but for him it was a lifetime ago. The memories of good times are buried so deep now. Huddled there in the corner, trying to go unnoticed. Trying to become part of the scenery, lest he become part of the violence again. It really is remarkable how quickly kids learn to become unseen- I made chameleons to blend in, but children are meant to stand out, to be noticed and celebrated.

He is so cold, sitting there in the draft of winter, wrapped in pants that are too small, and a jacket that is too big- both too dirty to be seen in public. He is so dirty too. It’s been a week since he had a hot shower after gym class. That was the last time he had a hot meal as well. Some kids love Christmas breaks, any break, any time to be away from school and with family. And he used to feel that way too. Before school was the only warm place, the only place to cleanup, the only square meal he would eat all day, the only safe place.

Safe place? That’s a relative understanding. The other children mock him mercilessly. Each day is a strategic exercise in avoidance and survival. Teachers that once cared for him, started to feel sorry for him, but now, they just don’t know what to do. Some try to help, in small ways they do. But what can they do to really change his world to good again?

But I still see him. And I know how to build a fire. I know how to clean a dirty rag. I know how to fill an empty stomach. I can be a safe place.

I love that woman. I so want to help her. She is so lonely, so hopeless. She wasn’t always this way. She used to be so full of hope and joy. She was the life of the party. People were just drawn to her. All sorts of people. Her laugh was infectious. When you told her stories or a joke, you knew she really cared- she was actually interested. When she asked, “How are you?” She really wanted to know how you were. And so when she talked to you, you were interested too. Why is that so rare among people today?

But it was her family that was most important. She loved her husband and her children with selfless abandonment! Her husband adored her; her children, well, their mom was their world. But all that has changed now. Now she wakes up everyday to her worst nightmare, a living reality. It’s always hardest for her this time of year. It’s been so long since she laughed. So long since she asked anyone, “How are you?” So long since anyone took the time to ask her. So she sits in her chair, rocking back and forth. She tucks her knees to her bosom. She looks like she is still comforting a child, but now she is the child looking for comfort.

She hasn’t eaten, but she’s not hungry. She hasn’t been out of the house in days, but she’s not looking for anything to do. She hasn’t talked to another person in ages. She only wants to talk to the ones that can’t answer her now. If she could exchange her life for theirs it wouldn’t even be a question. But that’s impossible. People try to comfort her and say things like, “They will always live in your memories.” They mean well, but I know that’s of little comfort. What are memories compared to flesh and blood? What are memories compared to their laughter? They only serve to sting the wounds of her lose.

But I still see her. I remember how to laugh. I want to ask how are you my child? I know what it means to give life, and to have life taken away.

I love that guy. I so want to help him. He’s so afraid, so insecure. It wasn’t always this way. We used to talk. He looked to me for guidance and help. He wanted to make a difference. He was going to truly live his faith and his values. Talk about an idealist! He was going to change lives and change the world!

And he had everything going for him- talent, education, and opportunity- the world was his oyster. He was climbing the ladder as they say. Making a name for himself, and making a family. A trophy wife. 2 beautiful kids. A house to die for. A cottage at the lake. It just started to take over his life. The only problem was that after a while, he started to believe his own image.

Oh it didn’t happen over night. It never does. You don’t lose your dreams fast. It’s a long process, a slow, steady wearing down. You make one allowance, then one exception, then change one habit, tweak one value. Pretty soon the years have passed by, and you’re a different person. You’re doing things, saying things, being things you never thought would happen. Everyone changes, every one must grow and learn and mature. But in the process the world just seems to squeeze so much of the good stuff out too.

He just keeps doing now. Doing all the work, going through all the motions. Even the motions of our relationship. He still goes to church, when he’s in town. He certainly makes sure his kids are involved. And that’s good. It makes him feel good. It takes his mind off some of the harder questions. It takes his mind off the fact that he knows he’s blowing it. That he knows his kids are growing up without him. That his wife is growing away from him. They’ll stick together for the family. But they are just going through the motions of the relationship too. He’ll be a great provider, and that’s what a father does, or so he tells himself. Sometimes he almost believes it, believes that providing excuses his presence. He just doesn’t see that he’s losing them- losing them to the world. And that he’s losing himself in the process.

But I still see him. I’m still here to talk, to lead, to give him a purpose. I know what it’s like to feel the pressure of the world weighing on your shoulders, and I know how to overcome.

I love that girl. She sits, warming herself by a fire in a humble home in Nazareth. To you it was 2000 years ago, for me it is as if it’s still unfolding. She’s such a good girl. She’s young. She’s so young. Can she really accept what must be? Is this too much for her? Is this too much for anyone? I know she can, for I know her. If she were any older, maybe she wouldn’t have the faith to believe that what is impossible for man is possible for me. With age comes wisdom, but with youth comes the faith to simply say, “Yes.” Yes Lord, may it be unto me as you have said.

She dreams of an ordinary family and an ordinary life. It will be far from that. The angel visit, the birth, the visitor’s from far away lands, an escape to Egypt, a return to their homeland. Life will never be the same for her, or for Joseph.

Joseph is such a good man. I know I’ll have to send Gabriel to him as well. He’ll be prepared to do what he knows is the right and honorable thing to do, when you find yourself engaged to a girl who says she’s a virgin, but is obviously pregnant. How could anyone be expected to believe such a tale?

They’ll be married soon, but by then it will be too late. This must take place now. And it must happen this way. I know she won’t understand, how could she? How could any one of my children? But this isn’t about understanding how it’s going to turn out. It’s about faith, faith in how it’s going to begin.

This is the way it must be. If I tried to walk along side of her, she would think it was an earthquake, that the ground itself would swallow her. She’d only run away in fear.

If I tried to speak to her, she would think my voice alone would incinerate her. She’d only close her ears in terror.

If I showed her my glory, she would think the world itself had come to its end. She’d only hide her face, and she’d ask me to hide mine.

If I only sent my messenger, she could still doubt my love. No, I’ve gone that that route before. I know that some things must be done in person- in flesh and blood.

So I will come to her, by her. And then, then she will know my love as I grow inside of her womb. With each passing day she will know my love as her skin stretches tight. With each passing week she will know my love as each kick reminders her, I am with you. With each passing month she will know my love, even as the people around her question the kind of love she has known.

She will know my love as she brings my life into the world. I will be her flesh and blood. So now, when I first walk along side of her, it will be in the first steps of a child. When I first show my face to her, she will look and see her own resemblance. When I first speak to her, it will be in the cooing of a tiny baby. When I come to her, I will be her own son. Then she will know my love.

And even thought I am the author of her life, she will be the one to bring my life into the world. And even though I am the spring of living water, she will first nurse my life. And even though I am the bread of life, she will first nourish me and fill my empty stomach. Even though I know the plan for her life, she will teach me how to walk and talk and read and write. Even though I know her inside and out and every day of her life, she will come to know me, inside and out, an every day of my life, from my birth in a manger in Bethlehem, to the day I will give my life on the cross. As she gives her life over to me, I will give my life for her, and for all my children, so that the sins of my children may be forgiven, and that they may truly know I love them. This is how it must be. This is how it will be!

I love a child. And I will come to him. I will come to him because I love the little children and the orphans and the outcasts of this world. I will come to him, and then he will know my love.

I love a woman. And I will come to her. I will come to her because I love the widows and the broken and the hurting and the hopeless. I will come to her, and then she will know my love.

I love a man. I will come to him. I will come to him because I love the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, the ones who remember me, and the ones who forget. I will come to him, and then he will know my love.

I love them. I love them all. And so I will come to them. I will come to them all- men and women, young and old, rich and poor of every tribe and nation, I will come them and be with them because I am the wonderful counselor; I am Almighty God; I am the Everlasting Father; I am the Prince of Peace. I am the Christ. I will come to them. I will break the silence and my first words to them will be the cry of a tiny babe…

Ponder These Things...

December 9, 2007
Connections Community Church

Charles Dickens is synonymous with Christmas. Everyone knows his famous tale- a Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, Tiny Tim- great stuff. But Dickens wrote another story that, in my opinion, captures the spirit and experience of Christmas even better than he did in the Carol. I don’t think he knew he did, and I don’t think anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever made this connection. But the very first line of his famous Tale of Two Cities rings true for most of us this time of year-

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!”

For most of us Christmas and New Years is sort of like the best of times and the worst of times. I hope all of us have some great memories of Christmas, and are already making new ones. Just yesterday I took all my kids out skiing to the Boler Bump. It was my 3-year old son’s first time. He was awesome- just like his dad at that age! And my daughter Karis, 5 years old, lost both of her front teeth this week. Both of them! You can’t plan stuff like that! We are already making some amazing Christmas memories.

But not everything is great this time of year. There’s only 15 more shopping days left until Christmas and you haven’t even made your list yet. Just out of curiosity, who here has finished their Christmas shopping… Most of you haven’t even sent out your cards yet. Some of you forgot until right now that you are supposed to send out cards.

For some of you this is actually the hardest time of year. This is your first Christmas without your spouse, or without your children, or without your parents. You are already dreading this season. You already have bills to pay through June. You have to figure out how you are going to visit with four different sets of family. You know that Uncle Joe is going to show up with his new girl friend, and nobody is going to like her. You already know that Dad is going to drink too much eggnog and make a scene, but everyone will be polite and make excuses for him. And while this past week held some great memories for my family, one of my high school friends died lost he battle with cancer this week. On his birthday. A guy my age. His mom made the blanket you see my son constantly holding onto. This is the worst of times for his family now.

Christmas can be the best of times and the worst of times. And you know what, there’s not much I can do to fix that for you this morning. You probably can’t fix everything to micro- manage a perfect Christmas for your family (Although this doesn’t stop millions of Moms and Dads from trying to put the veneer of a perfect family Christmas together). There’s nothing much that you can do to fix a lot of circumstances out of your control this morning, or in the coming weeks. Yes, you can and should make some decisions that are in your control- don’t over spend. Don’t over eat. Don’t over drink. Don’t go and see the movie Fred Claus, no really, don’t.

But here’s the thing- here’s what we can do- just stop. Just pause. And just ponder what this is really all about. Because if we do that, we might just gain the perspective we need to make it through. We might just gain the insight we need to know what this season is all about. We might just push the balance a bit, so that this is not so much the worst of times, but is a bit more the best of times.

You know what else- this is really nothing new. I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special the other night with my kids, telling them how I watched it when I was there age. I watched as the credits rolled- 1965. For more than 40 years kids and parents have been watching that special- and the message of it rings as true today as it did back then- Charlie Brown laments that everyone’s forgotten the real reason for the season- his own sister, his own dog, all his friends have gone commercial. Finally, in desperation, Charlie Brown screams out- “Isn’t there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?” Hey, watch it for yourself…

And if Linus had continued he would have said this,
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2: 8-19

What would it look like for us to stop, to pause, and to ponder these things in our heart? To ponder what Christmas is all about, instead of getting caught up in the craziness of it all. To ponder, can we make this the best of times?

So this morning I want us to ponder two things…
First, the classic Christmas question-

what do you want for Christmas?

What do you really want for Christmas this year? For some of you you’re already there! You want the car, you want the vacation, you want the new game system, you want something. And you know what, that’s cool. I want new skis. I don’t care if you want some stuff- stuff isn’t bad. Cordless drills are cool. I like my son’s remote control car more than he does. Buying my wife jewelry brings her happiness, makes her look good and then through a chain reaction of events eventually leads to a very merry Christmas for me. Stuff isn’t all bad- so I’m not knocking stuff.

But you know it can take over. You know it can consume you, and usually does. You know it doesn’t lead to real happiness and joy and fulfillment and peace. So I’ll ask again, what do you really want for Christmas? What do you want that goes beyond the stuff? Can you name it?

There are at least four words very closely associated with Christmas- we see then in card after card, hear them in song after song- hope, peace, love and joy. Many churches light what are called Advent Candles- each standing for one of those things. These are the kinds of things I’m talking about pondering. Look at your life, ponder your deepest needs, what do you really want? What do you want to arrive in your life this year?

Ponder Hope. Do you want hope? Are you in what seems to be a hopeless situation? A hopeless marriage, a hopeless addiction, a hopeless job, a hopeless future? Are you held hostage to a bottle, to a pill, to a person, to a pleasure? You have the proverbial monkey on your back. You can’t stop thinking about that person, even though it can go nowhere. You can’t stop looking at pornography, even thought it only makes you feel worse about, everything. You are in this downward spiral that is spinning out of control and it just seems hopeless? What are you hoping for?

Ponder Peace. Is your spirit restless? There is a war going you’re your life. A war that rages for your heart and soul and mind and strength. You don’t know what to do with your life. You feel like you’re just going through the motions, punching the clock, paying your dues, working for the weekend. You are so ill at ease that your goal is not to get in touch with your feelings or your dreams, your goal is to get numb. To get through the day. What difference would peace make in your life?

Ponder Love. Do you want to feel the love of your parents? The love of your spouse? The love of your children? The love of another human being because you are isolated and alone? Do you want to know the love of God?

Ponder Joy. Have you lost your joy for living? Are you weighted down with the burdens of the world? You worry about family and kids, and work and school and government and poverty and world hunger and war and all the other bad things in the world- because we know they are out there. But there can also be joy- beauty and laughter and joy in life.

So ponder what you really want in your life. Ponder that which would bring you true hope, true peace, true love, true joy. And be as specific as you can get- name it. Because something happens in naming the need. I drive my wife crazy every Christmas- what do you want George? “Oh you know, whatever, something that I like.” That’s really helpful because she was seriously thinking about buying me something that I would really detest! Just like it helps to actually name the gift we want (skis), name the longing in your life. You have to bring it forward and bring it before God.

Then second, in light of what you are longing for, in light of what you really want,

ponder this story

Ponder, as Mary did, all these things. She pondered all that had happened in the previous year…

A young girl, a teenager most likely, was dreaming of the day in the near future when she’d be married to Joseph. Six months after a visit to her old relative Elizabeth, an angel came to Mary. She was troubled, as everybody always is when an angel visits. But the angel comforted her and gave her even big news- she would give birth to a son, and he would be named Jesus, which means save, for he will save the people from their sins. He will be great and he will be the son of the Most High God. He will establish a kingdom that know no bounds- of place or of time.

Mary asked how this would be, for she was a virgin, pledged to be married. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the child born would be the Son of God. Even now, he said, your relative Elisabeth is six months pregnant- for nothing is impossible with God. And Mary’s response was simple: I am the Lord’s servant- may it be unto me as you have said.

Joseph began to notice a change in his fiancé Mary. The whole tale would be hard to swallow. So he decided to quietly divorce her because he didn’t want to put her through any more shame. So there was another visit by an angel- he came to Joseph in a dream and told him the plan. Joseph woke up, went to Mary, and took her home as his wife.

Some months later Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census be taken, and that all people needed to register in their hometown. So Joseph and a very pregnant Mary started their journey to Bethlehem. The town was so full that they could find no place to stay but a stable, and it was there that Jesus was born and laid in a feeding trough.

That very night the angel appeared to the shepherds and told them all that had unfolded. “Do not be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for all the people of the world- today, in Bethlehem, a savior is born, he is Christ the Lord!” And then the sky was filled with angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth people to men on whom his favor rests!”

I tell the story because I have no idea if you know it or not, but it is so important to me, and so important to all the world, I want to be sure you hear it at least once this Christmas. I want you to have the opportunity to actually ponder this story, to treasure it in your heart, and decide what you make if it.

I invite you to stop, to pause, and to ponder this story because maybe here lies the answer to all the things we really want this Christmas- all the things we really want in life. I invite you to ponder this story because here we find the one who can bring us hope in a world of dead ends. Here we find the one that can bring us peace in the war that rages in our soul, and even the wars that rage in our world. Here we find the love that we long for, the love we were made to receive, and extend. Here we find the joy that brings purpose and meaning and beauty to life.

There is a fifth candle that is traditionally lit at Christmas in many churches- one that is lit on Christmas Eve. A candle that sits in the center of the other four: taller, bigger, brighter. It is the Christ candle. This is his story, the story of Jesus. The story of the God that came us as a baby born in a barn in Bethlehem, to become one with us, to live among, to eventually die for us so that me might have the forgiveness of our sins and new life in his resurrection.

Here’s the thing, I’m not at all surprised that the world tries to squeeze this story out of Christmas. That’s just what the world does, that what life does. It wants to squeeze God to the margin, squeeze out the meaning and the beauty and the art of it all. You know what surprises me? That it still hasn’t happened, and that I don’t think it ever will happen. Despite all our troubles, and all the bad stuff that happens, all the craziness of Christmas of shopping and traveling and visiting and sending cards and office parties and everything that squeezes in on us this time of year- despite all that, we haven’t forgotten the meaning. You haven’t forgotten the meaning. You’re here! You’re learning the story, or remembering the story. You know what Christmas is all about- a God who loves us so much he became one of us. A God who loves us so much he came not in power, but as a helpless babe. A God who loves us so much he set aside his glory and the riches of heaven to become flesh and blood and in a barn in Bethlehem.

In two weeks, on Dec. 23, through song, through word and through drama we are going to tell the story again- in way you’ve never heard even if you’ve heard it before. We are going to tell it in a way that will make you ponder it as you never have before, and maybe help you to understand it in a way you never have before. We are going to tell it in a way that you can bring your family, your friends, you neighbors to hear- and they won’t be criticized for never coming to church. They won’t be confused by how the service runs. But they might just hear this story for the first time, or in a way that finally makes sense. And they too may ponder these things in their hearts- and find hope, peace, love, joy- the God they have longed for all their lives. The God we have longed all our lives.

A Culture of Connection

November 25, 2007
George . Saylor

Transformers was the movie of the summer, but they didn’t even come close to Voltron. Most people have forgotten about Voltron- there’s no movie coming out celebrate their return. And it’s a shame because they were way better. There were five young men and women who came to planet Arus, searching the universe for habitable planets. Arus was held captive by the evil king Zarkon and his forces (evil always has a name friends). While they did not seek to be drawn into the fight, they simply couldn’t help it- they had to fight for the greater good for normal men and women. But even these young heroes were no match for Zarkon- until they discovered the five lions of Voltron.

The Voltron force would don their fighting machines- giant robots that would be transformed into Lions. And just when defeat seemed inevitable, one would cry out to the others, “Voltron Power!” At that moment the most amazing thing would happen, every week. You just saw it- the five individuals would come together to form one gigantic fighting machine. One would become the body, the others each of the limbs. Finally the head would emerge. Then together as a united force, Voltron would prevail. What they could not do as individuals they did as one body. The forces of evil were held at bay for another week.

I think a bible scholar must have been on the writing team of that show! That’s the church! That’s the Christian life! That’s Connections! Men and women coming together for the greater good; fighting evil in the world, seeking justice, mercy, goodness and love. People who have each been called to serve and share their unique gifts and abilities, and who have been given some amazing abilities. Yet people who can’t do it alone. Men and women who need each other, who need to come together, to work together, to each play our part on the team. Men and women who share their unique gifts to be used for the greater good. And when they do, man it’s awesome- it’s a force that can’t be stopped. For together, in the sharing of our gifts and resources, we are able to accomplish infinitely more than any one of us ever could on our own.

Most of you have heard the word “Synergy.” It’s one of the latest buzzwords, and it’s a great word. It’s this amazing reaction that occurs when 2 or more forces are combined and their effect together is more than they could ever have alone. But the effect isn’t merely one of addition, it’s exponential. For example, they say, if you take two horses that can each pull 1000 lbs and you put them together, you’d think they could pull 2000lbs, but somehow they end up pulling more like 2500lbs.

I’ve seen this happen in the church. I’ve seen this happen with Connections already- that the effect we can have isn’t just you and I adding our lives together- it’s more like multiplying our lives together. It’s seeing things happen that I couldn’t do alone, and you couldn’t do alone. Things that only happen when we connect.

This is the fifth and final movement of our series on Cultivating a Connecting Culture. This is our chance to start this church out right- to work the kinds of qualities into the soil that will nurture and grow our church. First we talked about trust- what would it look like for us, especially those of us who have been burned, to start trusting ourselves, to start trusting others, to start trusting God? Then we talked about acceptance. Because some of us that taken that leap of faith, that leap of trust with another person, and we’ve been rejected. So we looked into the bible and found a God who in Jesus Christ came to say I accept you, I love you, I’ll even die for you. With acceptance assured we looked to the truth, a culture of truth. Because the truth will set you free, but it’s really hard to be truthful with ourselves and others and God. But the only other option is denial, is lies, is living life with a mask. Once we embrace the truth of our lives we can start to experience healing. Now sometimes that healing comes to us physically in amazing ways. But what God offers all of us, each and every person, is a kind of inner healing. A healing that comes to our inner wounds when we simple admit I’m sick, I need a doctor, Jesus help me.

The last service was pretty heavy as we dealt with the healing, but we had to get into the hurt. But today is good. Today is about us getting connected. Today is about Voltron power! It’s about the amazing power of transformation that happens when we get connected to God through Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ in our lives, get connected with other people. And connected with other people the impact we can have in fighting evil, and promoting goodness and blessing in our world!

This is obviously what we are about here at connections. I hardly know where to begin. But let’s start by looking at why connection is such a need.

In his book, A Generation alone, author William Mahedy writes of his work with college students in today's culture. William observes that many students are showing the same symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that war vets have suffered. He says that the culture has actually bred a PTSD generation due to the trauma of abandonment through divorce, psychological and sexual abuse as children, rape, overexposure to media violence and sexual exploitation. He can find no other explanation for...

“the widespread problems with stability, self-image, feelings of emptiness, depression, suicidal thinking, fear of the future, and lack of hope among the young.”

His conclusion,

“Abandonment is the fundamental mental component of the generational disorders…the young have been abandoned by parents, loved ones, teachers, political leaders, even the culture itself. No one is really there for them now…More than any of their predecessors, they have been since birth a generation alone.” p. 28-29

Into a postmodern PTSD generation, read these ancient words about the church...

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 26-27

It’s really a simple image-tThere are many parts, but one body. Every part is equally valuable. We rejoice, and we suffer, together.

Paul says there are two main problems with life in this world- we are separated from God and separated from people. Then he tells us there is one solution to both- being IN Christ.

This is really the heart of Christianity. The one point that should be so abundantly clear, but is easily missed. It’s this simple little phrase that if we’d experience it, and understand it, would change everything thing- is in Christ. If you are just now considering Jesus, this whole church thing, then you need to understand this. IF you’ve been following Jesus your whole life, you need to understand this, and you may have never really heard it put this way before.

More than 100 times in the New Testament we are told to be in Christ. This is the heart of the synergy we can start to experience in the Christian life. What we see throughout the New Testament is this image, this picture, this phrase that Paul continually uses about being “In Christ.” Put your faith, your hope, you life in Christ. But Paul actual goes beyond this. Paul is talking about nothing less than having an encounter with Jesus where we find ourselves, our lives, swept up into the person of Jesus Christ. He is actually talking about us putting our lives in Jesus. And as we read through the NT we start to see this everywhere- you do’t just put yoru faith in Christ, it is in Christ that we find our faith! Your salvation is in Christ, your sanctification is in Christ, your hope is in Christ. If anyone is IN CHRIST he is a new creation, the old life has passed away and a new life has begun!

Here’s the thing- too often the church has tended to teach, or at least people have heard, that we are to invite Christ to be in our hearts, in our lives, in our church. WE teach our kids to invite Jesus into their hearts, which is good, and it’s Biblical, to welcome Christ into our lives. And this is about all a kid can understand; because they actually think the universe is centered on them- you gotta love it! But the witness of the Bible time and again is not just to invite Christ into our life- it is to put our lives in Christ. It’s not about asking Jesus to be a part of my life and my plans. It’s about getting into Jesus, and being a part of his life and his plans. Do you catch the subtle but crucial difference? It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus. It’s about being in Christ. Putting my life in his.

And when we experience this new life in Christ for ourselves, something else happens. When you and I both give our lives to Jesus, when you and I are both in Christ, we find ourselves in a new relationship, a new context with each other. We are no longer two different people with our own experience of Jesus living our own lives and trying to figure out what it means to be the church together- instead we are two individual people, with our own unique experience and relationship with Christ, but each of us have that experience in Christ together. Jesus hasn’t come so much to the solitary sphere of my life- we’ve come into the sphere of the life of Jesus, and whether we like it or not, if we both in Jesus, we are in Him together for life.

OK, now I’m blatantly going to try to impress you, or at least justify the time and money I’ve spent on my education- there is an ancient phrase for this- “Unio mystica cum Christo” (The mysterious union of the believer with Christ). Mystically we are swept up into the person of Jesus Christ.

That’s the connection we are all about here- Individuals, known and loved and called by God living in Jesus Christ. And in Jesus Christ, we look around and see all these other people we are now connected to. Connected in a mysterious union that actually transcends our petty differences. A connection, that as the bible says, makes men and women, young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Canadian and American one in Christ!

Is this totally nuts? I don’t mind if this I hard for you to accept right now, if you still have questions. In fact I think that would be really cool if you had some questions about this stuff. But does that basic model of connection, of connecting to God in a relationship at least makes sense- that that way of Christ, the way of God, is not ultimately about fitting God into our lives- but about getting our life in God through Jesus, in they mysterious union with Christ. That is real life is found, that is where salvation is found, that is where hope is found.

This may be the hardest part of the bible, of the Christian message, of following Christ for moderns- folks basically around 40 or older who grew up in a culture dominated by a modern scientific rationalism that says the experience and autonomy of the individual are supreme above all things. This surrender of ones self, of ones life, to someone else, to some things else. But conversely, this may be the most exciting part of the message of Jesus for folks 30 and under, post moderns struggling with the PTSD of being abandoned in the culture, this message that you can be a part of something bigger than yourself and your life.

When the bible talks about the church, it never talks bout buildings or denominations or one-hour worship services once a week, it talks about a mystical gathering of people. Transformed people that have become the temple of the Lord. The church is the people; the people are the church. And because all Christians are living in Christ, we become part of him. I love it that we don’t have a church building yet, but that we are already a church. That we are already a people coming together to worship God, to love and support one another, to share our love and support with the world!

Just like those crazy kids that came together in Voltron, we come together in Christ. Just like they each had a unique role to play, each one of has a part to play. Just like each of those kids was gifted and talented in jus the right way, so each and every one of you have been given just the right gifts and talents. Just like when one of those kids was hurt or suffered, so all of us suffer when one part suffers. Just like all of those kids rejoiced in Voltrons victory, so each of us rejoice in the victory of life in Christ!

After leading groups through ropes courses I would always end with the same prayer. I’d make everybody gather around in a circle and put his or her arms around each other. Everybody hated it. I hate it. Who wants to put their arms around folks, especially after you’ve been sweating and working all day. But I’d make them get close, make them embrace, make them look at their neighbor- in the eye, not at the ground- and say to them

“You are part of the body of Christ.”

Everybody loved that. Then we’d say,

“Christ loves you and gave his life for you.”

That was a little more intense. Then the final prayer,

“Without you Christ’s body is broken.”

As I look around this morning I see the body of Christ. As I look at you this morning I want you to know that you can be a part of the body of Christ. I want you to know that Christ loves you and gave his life for you. I want you to know that without you Christ’s body is broken.

We are getting ready to launch Connections into London and I want us to come onto the scene like Voltron! I want us to be a force for good, for justice, for mercy and compassion. I want us to be a force of people in Christ together, many parts, one body. I want the parts of our body to touch every area of London- every business, every school, every neighborhood, every street, every house, every life.

If we are going to have that kind of an impact we need a big body. How many parts? I don’t know. God will give us all the parts we need. 100 parts? God has already shown us we need more parts than that before we’ve even started weekly services. So what’s it’s gonna be- 200 parts? 300 hundred? 500? 1000 parts? Where do you think this could go? What part do you want to play? What role can you and only you play in this body?

Connections Community Church will never be any more, or any less, than the people. The people who get connecting to Christ, in Christ. The people who get connected to each other in Christ. The people, connected in Christ, who go our into the world to be his hands, his feet, his eyes and ears and voice and heart.

Cultivating a Connecting Culture: A Culture of Healing

November 11, 2007
Connections Community Church
by George J. Saylor

What I've Done, by Linkin Park

In this farewell
There's no blood
There's no alibi
'Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies

So let mercy come
And wash away...
What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

Put to rest
What you thought of me
While I clean this slate
With the hands
Of uncertainty

So let mercy come
And wash away...
What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

For What I've done

I'll start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done

I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done
What I've done

When we listen to the lyrics of our culture we find all the stuff we talk about here in a church. People asking questions, looking for answers. We hear people crying out for forgiveness, asking for mercy, for a new beginning. We hear the songs of the broken, and the longing for hope. Everyone’s broken, sings Boni Jovi, Everybody hurts…sometimes, sings REM, What I’ve done sings Lincoln Park. Everyone needs healing.

The bible is full of stories of great healing: from the Old Testament, to Jesus, to the birth of the church. God worked miracles in people’s lives. Jesus had a period in his ministry where he was literally like a superstar because of the miracles he performed- healing the sick and the lame, giving sight to the blind, casting our demons, raising the dead. The church saw miracles happen when people prayed in Jesus’ name and would lay hands on people. And the church today sees this happen. Healing is a part of the Christian life and experience. We have faith in a God that we believe still does miracles, still heals today. This might be the weirdest thing you’ve every heard. You already ready to write this off and walk away. And you know what- it is kinda weird, it’s kind of out of our control, and it’s kind of wonderful too.

In my former church we had a Wednesday noon communion and healing prayer service. We would read the bible, break bread together, then pray for the sick. We’d lay on hands and ask for miracles in Jesus’ name. Sometimes they happened. One man had a brain tumor almost the size of a baseball. The survival rate for his tumor after 5 years is 3 percent. Nearly five years later he is still on my list of prayer partners. Is it possible that God had nothing to do with it? Lot’s of stuff is possible. I really don’t see it that way. But to be honest, most of the time we didn’t get the answer we asked for. Cancer spread, people died. But that didn’t seem to deter or discourage our group.

What I want to get into today is a different kind of healing. Cultivating a healing culture that deals not just with the outward stuff, the stuff we know we should pray about- cancer, surgeries, etc, but the inward stuff. A culture of healing the brokenness in people’s lives.

Have you ever heard the expression,

The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.

I think the pastor of the church I grew up in must have said that every Sunday. But if the church was in fact a hospital for sinners, we were just a bunch of doctors and nurses waiting around, because few patients ever admitted themselves. For some reason this culture developed where everyone was walking around dressed in a white coat, a stethoscope around their neck and a clip board in hand. Oh wait, I mean they had on their Sunday best, a cross necklace and a bible in hand. Everyone else was sick, but not us.

Rarely would the culture be created to deal with people’s personal brokenness, addiction and pain. Pray for me, I’m off the wagon. Pray for me, I’m one step away from an affair. Pray for me, I’m in debt over my head and still sinking. Jesus demonstrated something different- Jesus helped people deal primarily with the inward stuff- the pain, the brokenness, the sin. Sometimes outward stuff happened too.

In Matthew 9:1-8 some men brought a paralytic to Jesus, and Jesus says, “Take heart son, your sins are forgiven.” What a let down? It was like watching Brittney Spears at the Grammy’s this year; it was like watching the Leaf’s play hockey- I knew I’d get you on that one! The crowd was like, OK, get ready for it, and…you’re forgiven! Do’h. That’s not what we wanted! The crowd wanted to see a miracle. And the religious types were incensed- who is this Jesus to just say your sins are forgiven?

Jesus knew exactly what was going on- what’s easier to say- your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk. One is easy to say, because nothing visible, nothing spectacular is going to happen. Another is spectacular to see, it does change a life, and it also pleases a crowd. So then, since you folks want a show, and since this man genuinely has a need- get up, take your mat, go home. And the man does it. The crowd goes wild, they got their show, and they were amazed- yeah Jesus, he’s our man, if he can’t do it no one can!

Then Jesus moves on. He sees a man named Matthew, who would later write this book we’re reading from, who was a tax collector. Jesus says follow me, and he does it. If you were here two services ago, when we talked about acceptance, you can read into this the radical, amazing, life changing acceptance of Jesus- calling this man, saying he is worthy to follow Jesus, the rabbi. Saying in effect, you will be the kind of man I am, you will do the kinds of things I do.

They go to Matthew’s house and have a party where all the sinners and tax-collectors join in. The religious types are all riled up about Jesus hanging out with the wrong types. It’s like they are saying Jesus, do you really believe this business that the church is supposed to be a hospital for sinners? And he says yep. He says hey, let me tell you what should be obvious to anyone-

It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13).

Jesus came not to the righteous, but sinners. Not for healthy folks, but to the sick. That’s just great for them isn’t it, because you know, if you’re like me, you’re not really sick, right? You’re not really a sinner, right? We’re all righteous folks here. We all have our life together. We all have everything ordered and under control. Hey, we’re all in church!

It’s not like you ever lied to your parents, or to your spouse, or to your kids, or to your boss? No, only sick people do that. You never cheated on a test in school? You never stole anything as a kid, or as an adult, or on your tax return, right? Only sick people do that. You never lost your temper with your kids or your spouse? You never took out the stress of your day on the people who love you the most, have you? Only sick people do that. You never had an affair right, you never found yourself breaking the one promise you swore to never break or forsake, because all of us should be able to keep at least one promise that we make in this life. Only sick people do that, not us. You never looked a pornographic website, did you? You’d never objectify another woman, or a man? Only sick people would do that. You never did something you really regret, never made a really big mistake that kind of haunts you now, every day of your life? A regret that makes you feel shame down to the very core of your being? You never worry about the future, or wonder why you feel so bad about yourself, or struggle with an addiction or an eating disorder. Only sick people are dealing with those kinds of things. Right?

You know, if you’re sitting there saying “Yeah George, I’m right there with ya, I’ve never done anything like that, and I wouldn’t want to associate with anyone like that!” Then you really have no concept of sarcasm, and second, this really isn’t going to be the kind of church where you’ll feel connected.

Because the culture we are creating here isn’t going to be a church where all us self-righteous people get together and pat ourselves on the back and look down our noses at all those sinners and misfits and mistakes. No. We are going to be a church where all of us mistakes and misfits and sinners get down on our knees and look up to God and pray, “I’m sick, and I need help. I’m a sinner, and I need mercy. I’m broken, and I need to be healed.” And if that means you’re going to heal my on the outside, or heal the phsysical brokenness in my life, that’s awesome, that’s great God. But that’s not what I’m asking for today. Today, I’m asking for you to fix me on the inside. heal what’s really broken, heal my spirit God, heal my soul.

Many churches set themselves up to create the wrong culture of healing. From the beginning they set up two sorts of programs- one program for people with problems- AA groups, recovery groups, support groups. And another program for the normal people. And all us normal people are going to sing Kumba Ya, we’re going to tell of all the great things we’re doing and how perfect our lives are, then we’ll say a prayer and get together again next week. Then churches wonder why the groups for people with problems thrive, and the groups for the normal people struggle.

We’re going to have one kind of program here- one for us normal people who are really messed up people with problems and who are powerless over them and who are ready to trust God, to accept one another, to admit the truth of their situation in life, and who are ready to go to God and other people to find healing. Do you want to be a part of a church like that? Do you want to be in a group like that?

Can we take the first step of recovery right now? Can we just use the words of Jesus. (You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready, it really is OK, because this first step is HUGE, I mean it might be the biggest step in our life.) Can we just say, “I’m sick; I need a doctor; Jesus help me.” Can you say that- I’m sick. I need a doctor. Jesus help me. If you can say those words you taken the first three steps of recover: you are powerless of your situation in life; you need a help from the outside; you will turn your life and will over to the help of God as you understand God.

Now take two of these and call me in the morning! Hey, is that liberating? Is that freeing? Is that healing? To admit we can’t heal ourselves, we can’t save ourselves?

I was asked to conduct a funeral yesterday. It was a strange set of God circumstances that lead to a call to me. I got a call and was getting some basic information- the church where she’s a member is without a pastor, the first guy they asked hurt his back, so he asked me. He told me it was for a stillborn baby. I immediately felt over my head, so I said I know a minister who older, wiser and has lost a child himself- he would be better than me for this. So we called Dan and he agreed. But I couldn’t stop thinking about this woman. I called Dan that evening and said hey, if anything comes up, anything, just call and I’ll help out. So Friday morning I get the call- Dan woke up with the flu, so they went to the third string- me. (How’s that to make you feel really good about yourself). I’m not making this up- then he gave me the address- the woman lives three houses over from me- I stood their on the phone looking over at her house.

Margaret* immigrated here from Uganda 8 years ago. She has two beautiful children, Sharon and Wilson. She was only 23 weeks along in her pregnancy, but hadn’t been feeling well. She tried to go to work at St. Joe’s hospital, but found herself unable to manage. With the help of a friend and her husband, she eventually got to an emergency room. She ended up delivering at just before midnight. Orion Murry lived nearly five hours before passing away. 23 weeks old, and he still fought to live.

Where were you when you got the bad news? Where were you when your life changed forever? You were at work, you were on vacation, you were spending a quiet evening at home, and then it happened. Where were you when you got the phone call? Where were you when you found out you had cancer? Where were you when your spouse said they had found someone else, they were leaving? Where were you before you lost your job? Before you lost your health? Before you lost you child? Where were you when the world as you knew came crashing down and life has never been the same? And if it hasn’t come crashing down, if everything is just fine, that’s great. Praise God…but it’s coming. It’s coming, because in this world we will have trouble, we will have heartache, we will have pain, we will be broken.

But this is what I want to leave you with today- no pain is too much for God’s grace. The Apostle Paul learned to live with brokenness. He had a thorn in his side it says in 2 Corinthians. Three times he prayed for the thorn to be taken away, “Lord take this thorn away.” And God’s answer came back a resounding “No. No Paul, I’m not going to take the thorn away, and you will learn that my grace is sufficient for you.

My grace is sufficient for all your needs.

You’ve said that prayer. You’ve called out to God in your hour of need. Maybe it was a last ditch effort, a prayer of desperation crying out: “Lord heal my wound. And God answers, “No, I’m not going to heal you wound in the way that you think it needs to be healed, and then, only then, you will begin to learn that my grace is sufficient for all of your needs. Go ahead, fill in the blank of your wound, name your pain, name your need that is causing you to cry out to God. God, save my marriage, save my wife, save my husband, save my child, save my job, save me from this cancer. And God says, “I’m not going to save you marriage, I’m not going to save your spouse. I’m not going to save your child. I’m not going to save your job. But you will learn, my grace is sufficient for your loneliness, for your brokenness, for all your needs. My grace is sufficient.

“My child, I want you to know that my grace is sufficient. My grace is sufficient for the mother who holds her child’s lifeless body. My grace is sufficient for the child left an AIDS orphan. My grace is sufficient for the widower, my grace is sufficient for the man left to raise his kids alone. My grace is sufficient to help in your darkest night. My grace is sufficient for you, and all my children. My grace is sufficient."

(Amazing Grace, By John Newton)
* Margaret gave permission for her story to be told.

A Culture of Truth

“The truth is…”

SO how do you finish that sentence? What is the truth of your life right now? Maybe it’s something really great. Maybe the truth is that right now you’re better than you have been for a long time. You’re sober, your marriage is good, your kid is an honor student, you got a promotion at work, you’re in school and have your life plan securely in place. If that the case, we celebrate, we rejoice with you. I hope you all have some great truths in your life right now. Or maybe the truth is that you’re in a tough spot. You fell off the wagon, your marriage is on the rocks, your kid beat up the honor student, you lost your job, you have this opportunity to get an education and you have no idea what to do with it. If that’s the case, we still want to celebrate God and worship with you! But we also want to mourn with you, and pray for you. But whatever comes to the surface from the depths of your being, the point this morning is this- we want CCC to be a place where people can experience and know truth. We want to cultivate a culture where the truth isn’t covered up, but rather, the lies are cast aside, the masks are taken off, and we get real, we get honest, with get truthful.

We are three steps into our series on “Cultivating a Connecting Culture.” We want to put some necessary nutrients into the soil of our church. This means being on guard to weed out any thing that isn’t going to be helpful. More so, it means intentionally infusing our church with the kind of values God desires. We’ve talked about TRUST- cultivating a place where people who have been burned can start to trust others again, where people who are still good with trust can go deeper with God and with others, growing in faith. We talked about ACCEPTANCE- cultivating a “come as you are” culture here at CCC. Come as you are- with your hopes and fears, your joys and pains, your failures and successes. Come as you are, because we can’t come before God any other way- he see through the façade and masks we put on. So just meet us as you are.

But now we want to take the culture a little deeper. We want to take it to the TRUTH. We have to build the church on truth.

If you’re a “Churchy,” you know that Christians like to talk about the truth, We believe Christianity is true, that Jesus really lived and died and rose and that he is coming again. We believe that the bible is a source of truth to guide and direct our lives, individually and corporately. We know the Spirit’s first title given by Jesus is the “Spirit of Truth,” and he will guide into all truth. But most of all, we’re into truth because Jesus claimed to be the truth- In John 14:6 he claimed

“I am the way the truth and the life.”

Theologians have often reflected on this claim, noting that it is either absolutely false or absolutely true. If false, all of this Jesus stuff should be cast out into the pile of numerous other charlatans, false doctrines, and lies. But if what Jesus said is the truth, then there is really nothing greater than considering his claims, and calling upon Him as God.

So we could talk about relative truth verses absolute truth, practical truth and propositional truth. We could talk about the truth of Jesus subjectively experienced in our lives, and the truth of Jesus as an objective truth for all humanity. But I don’t want to go there today. Instead, I want to talk about what it looks like for us to encounter the truth of Jesus as the emobiment of truth, in our lives. To cultivate this culture here where we can seek truth- the truth of Jesus, the truth of our lives, the truth of our world.

One of the most famous encounters in the Bible is an exchange between Jesus and Pilate, the man who holds Jesus’ life in his hands. Now you can imagine the truth of this moment. Jesus can play this several ways. Pilate is getting pressure to have Jesus executed by one group of people, his own wife is saying Jesus is innocent, he has admitted he doesn’t find Jesus guilty of the charges laid before him. I believe the man is genuinely torn.

Pilate decides to ask Jesus, for himself, what he has done. Jesus says, “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” And all Pilate can say is

“What is truth?” John 18:37-38

Have you ever gotten to that place in your life where you are in so deep, so dark, that you’re not even sure of what is true anymore? It might be standing right in front of you- but your don’t have the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it, the heart to believe it? Sometimes, maybe most times, it’s hard to face up to the truth.

Experiential education is all about creating teachable moments. The way you create teachable moments is often by just letting things happen, then examining it closer. I used to take students on camping trips every Fall Break. One trip I’ll never forget. We got ready the night before, woke up before sunrise, and drove to the trail. Everyone was all excited, ready to hit the trail ready to go. They didn’t want instruction- they wanted to make time! So I handed them the map, pointed out where we were, where we were going, and off we went. We were making great time. We were cruising. These students were motivated.

We stopped for lunch and decided to figure out where we were and how much farther we had to go. So they start going over the map, looking back up and down the trail, thinking about markers they encountered. Then they started to put things together. The truth started to reveal itself.

We walked in the wrong direction. I’m telling you that we immediately went though the five stages of grieving-

denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

One guy was adamant, no, we didn’t, we did not go in the wrong direction for the whole morning! This can’t be! One girl was furious, this is unacceptable, who was supposed to check the compass, did anyone check the compass, who is responsible for this, because there are lots of trees out here, I have rope in my backpack, and I intend to use it. She lost all trust in me as the leader. Another person was ready to make a deal, ok, we can change our plans and head in this direction if we get to this point and then… One guy just started crying, why me , why us, this is the worst thing that could ever happen, he crawled in the fetal position and was ready to die (OK, maybe not that bad). But eventually, they decided to deal with the truth of their situation, and decided to move forward. And in the big picture, it really wasn’t so bad. So we had to turn around, change our plans, change our pace, retool how the trip was going to happen. The truth was we walked in the wrong direct, and that had to be dealt with.

But the more I’ve thought about it, the truth can hit us like the grieving process. We want to deny it. I am not longer surprised by the human capacity for self deception. You know what they say, “Denial- it ain’t just a river in Egypt.” Denial is reality for many- denial of the truth of our situation in life. “I don’t have a problem, everyone else has the problem.” “I’m gonna have faith and he’s coming back to me, she coming home.” “Not my kids, never, they would never steal, they would never cheat, they would never lie, my little girl isn’t sexually active so she can’t have an STD, she can’t be pregnant.”

The truth can make us angry- angry with ourselves, with others, with the world. We might want ot bargain with the truth, try and manipulate it a bit to fit our life, our circumstances, our preferred outcome. The truth can be depressing- to face our powerlessness to change much of our life situation, to change other people, to change our world.

If it’s the truth, even if it’s painful, even if it’s inconvenient, is going to have to be dealt with. You’ve seen or heard of Al Gore’s film- what a great title. “An Inconvenient Truth.” The truth is maybe most often inconvenient to the status quo and comfort of our life.

Do you remember the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes? Many years ago, there lived an emperor who cared much about his clothes. Two swindlers named Guido and Luigi said that they could make the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they said, also had the special capability that it was invisible to anyone who was either stupid or not fit for his position.

Being a bit nervous about whether he himself would be able to see the cloth, the emperor first sent two of his trusted men to see it. Of course, neither would admit that they could not see the cloth and so praised it. The emperor then allowed himself to be dressed in the clothes for a procession through town, never admitting that he saw nothing. He was afraid that the other people would think that he was stupid. Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, afraid to admit that they could not see them, until a small child said: "But he has nothing on!"

This was whispered from person to person until everyone in the crowd was shouting that the emperor had no clothes on. The emperor heard it and felt that they were correct, but held his head high and finished the procession.

This morning I want us to make a giant leap in the cultivation of our Connections culture. Let’s not be afraid to say hey, the emperor has no clothes, and guess what, I’m the emperor! Let’s let the truth strip us naked before God and one another (Now I’m totally speaking metaphorically here people- I can just imagine some guy’s getting all excited and ready to rip of his shirt in the name of truth).

Here are Connections we want to create a culture where we can help one another accept the truth- the truth of our lives, the truth of our situations, the truth of our world.

Jesus said to a group of religious people, “If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples.” OK, true enough. Then he goes a step further,

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:36

The truth will set you free. I propose that we want to be free to be truthful in three areas of our life.

First, free to be truthful with ourselves. A culture where we are free to examine our lives and be honest with ourselves. The thing about Jesus is that he gave people time and again the opportunity, and the courage, to be truthful with themselves. Jesus was walking form town to town and a big crowd was following him like an entourage. Two blind beggars along the road ask what happening and they are told that Jesus is walking by. They start yelling “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd told them to shut and not bother Jesus. But, and I love this, they start yelling all the louder, making even more of a seen. SO Jesus asks, what do you want me to do for you? And they say hey, we’d really like a new cane a cup, maybe a cool pair of sunglasses. NO! They say Jesus we want to see. Jesus more than anything else, opened people’s eyes. He opened their eyes to the truth. But he first asks these guys, what do you want, what do you need? They had to face and name the truth of their lives, of their need. And when they do, Jesus responds.

What did Jesus teach his followers? Deal with the plank in your own eye before you go around pointing out the splinter in someone else’s. Jesus is saying if someone’s got a splinter in his or her eye, they know it, they know they need help. But you can’t help them if you haven’t dealt with the truth, the giant plank of denial in your own eye. So let the truth start with you. I’m blind, crippled, I feel like an outcast, I’m in a dead end situation in life- Jesus, set me free.

Second, we want a culture here where we are free to be truthful with others. A culture where we can, in love, be real with each other. The bible says (Ephesian’s 4:15) speak the truth in love to one another. That’s awesome… I just wish we could do it. If you’ve grown up in the church you’ve been in this situation. Someone comes up to you, and they say, really smoothly, I just want to speak truth into your life. Then they let it rip. I can’t think of any time where somebody said they wanted to speak truth into my life, and actually did. I always got the impression they wanted to take me down a few pegs, they had an ax to grind and I was the stone.

You now, if you want to help someone confront the truth in his or her life, and I hope you do, just do it in love. Just talk to them about it. Now this is not like a rule, but generally speaking, if you have to say, I want to speak the truth in love into your life right now, you have yet to find the right words to actually speak truth in love into someone’s life. But the point is that we want to have a culture here where we can be truthful with each other, and help each other deal with the truth of our lives.

Third, we want a culture where we will be free to be truthful with God. A culture where we can ask the hard questions, wrestle with difficult answers, and get real with God. There’s this great passage in Romans 1 where the writer says, “They (all people really) exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is praised forever. Amen.” (Rm. 1:25)

We live in a time and place where people are more willing to talk about God, to talk about spirituality, to quest for the truth, than ever before. Never has spirituality been more on the minds and lips of people. Never has Spirituality been so prominent in our culture. The world is seeking truth. We are all seeking truth. But so many are in so deep, in so dark, that they can’t see it. They still haven’t found it….

I have climbed highest mountain
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for…

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for…

I believe in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
Well yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds and you
Loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believed it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” by U2

The world around is looking. They are looking for the real deal, they are looking for the truth, they are looking for the one that will make sense of their life, that will give purpose and meaning to their existence, strength for the moment, that will give them hope for the future, that will heal their wounds and love their souls. They are tired of the bad exchange- of worshiping their own creation, and they are looking for the truth.

I also know that some of you still haven’t found what you’re looking for. You have chased after the false hopes and dreams of this world. Maybe some of you here have achieved wealth and success, you made partner, you opened your practice, you got your cottage, you’re on track for freedom 55, but the closer to get to reaching all these goals for yourself only brings you closer to the fact that it is not satisfying your greatest needs, your deepest needs, your longing for truth. SO you simply up the stakes, you raise the bar, a little more money, a little more success, a little more acclaim and I’ll have found what I’m looking for.

Maybe some of you have looked for pure please, totally hedonism. You have numbed yourself with drink and drug, trying to find a moment of pleasure, or at least a break from the pain. Yet drink after drink, pill after pill, you are still left empty. The numbness wears off and your left feeling the pain all the more acutely, because yet again you still haven’t found what you’re for.

You have succumbed to the embrace of a stranger, hoping that for maybe one moment you can feel that you are one flesh with another human being, so that you don’t feel so alone, so empty. Only to find that as you pull yourself away from that other person, you’ve not gained anything, but lost one more part of yourself. You still haven’t found the one you’re looking for.

Some of you have chased after truth in the most noble of efforts. You have given yourself tirelessly. You have volunteered hours upon hours to the best of causes. You have shown love and mercy and compassion. You have worked for justice and peace. But in all your efforts you still have not found the peace you are looking for. All your work has only shown you how small a difference you make, how insurmountable the problems of the world are.

Friends, the truth has been revealed to us. The truth has come to us. Jesus Christ offers himself to you this day. He is the one who won’t numb your pain, but will heal it. The one who will join himself to you and will never leave you or forsake you. He is the one who will lead you in paths of righteousness, will lead you in his work, in his mission, giving you strength and hope to persevere. He is the one we are all looking for. And I believe with all my heart and with all my mind and with all my strength and with all my soul that the Church is a culture of truth because Jesus us the most truthful person that ever lived on earth.

A Culture of Acceptance

If you’ve heard this before- great! We’re glad to have you back. If you haven’t heard this before- great, we’re glad to have you here! We’re only three services into this, so I have to run through the basics: we are meeting every other week this fall, building up to our launch at Christmas. We want to be very intentional about trying to improve each service and follow up with the people that join us. And our assumption is that most of you were invited because we haven’t really advertised. But now that we are three weeks into this, I’m realizing there is another crowd- and you are some very motivated folks who are taking ownership of your desire to find a church community- you are the folks that have found us on the website, or even just saw someone wearing one of our t-shirts! There are already some amazing stories of God bringing folks into our fellowship.

And because we are largely a friendly or self-motivated audience I’m finding that you are very responsive to what we are trying to do here, which is really two fold. First is to recruit more workers. In the ministry of Jesus, in Luke chapter 10, he got to this point where he had 72 followers who were apparently very committed to him and the ministry. Jesus had plans to go out into a whole bunch of towns and preach the good news, which was basically himself. So he tells his followers,

go and find more workers, for the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Now the interesting thing about that is the emphasis that is so often missed- it’s not the harvest time just yet, it’s time to find more workers.

When we look out at London I believe we can see that the harvest is quite obviously plentiful. And in regard to our mission, this means that there are literally hundreds of thousands who, by all apparent signs, have no faith community, no church they are a part of, no small groups they connect with, no active participation in any service or outreach projects, and who, if I may make a bit of a leap, but what I think is a safe leap, feel and live far from God, outside of an active and dynamic relationship with Jesus. If the stats are right less than 10% of Canadians are in church any given Sunday, which for us means more than 300,000 Londoners.

Folks, it’s not the harvest in London that concerns me- it’s finding enough workers that are willing enough, that are selfless enough, that are open enough to share the love of God and start actively loving their neighbors. Workers willing to help us reach out to the city to build up this church. Workers willing to get into the messiness and beauty of actually getting involved in people’s lives that are far from God, estranged from people, isolated from our community and the world. They are hard to find, they are hard to get to know, they are not the people that are already involved in churches. And here I am speaking most directly to those here that would openly say you are followers of Jesus- there’s really only one reason for you to be here and be a part of our church- God is calling you. So if you’re being called to this church, you’re being called to be a worker. You’re being called because you have some gifts, some time, some resources, and some connections that will strategically serve and grow this mission. You have people in your life that you are ready to invite to church, and this is the kind of church you can bring them to.

In other words, if you are following Christ, we invite to join us as a worker. To get involved, to volunteer, to give to our mission, to bring your friends and family and neighbors to meet Jesus here.

The other thing we are doing in these preview services is laying the foundation for our church culture. We are calling it

“Cultivating a Connecting Culture.“

We are discussing the values that are essential to our mission and development:
trust- acceptance- truth- healing- connection.

The bible, we talked about, is the story of God creating an interconnected world- where people were connected vitally to God, to one another, to the creation itself, and thus they knew themselves, their purpose and place in the world in a way beyond our experience. And while we’ve broken the connections, God began the work of re-connecting, reestablishing what was meant to be. The first layer we talked about was trust- how the bible is filled with stories of men and women who decided to trust God. Acceptance is the next logical nutrient we want to put into the soil of our culture.

Last time I tried to ask you what is a very profound question when we truly hear it in the depths of our being- what will it take to trust? To trust yourself, to trust others, to trust God? Today I don’t want to ask you a question, I want to offer you and invitation. But I believe it is a very profound invitation -

come as you are.

No, really, come as you are. Most of us have spent the better part our lives, and the better part of ourselves, trying to be someone or something we really aren’t. We try to come as the people that we think the world wants us to be. We try to present ourselves as the girls we think the boys want us to be, as the boys the girls want us to be, as the children we think our parents want us to be, as the workers our bosses want us to be, as the neighbors the Jones’ want us to be. We spend so much of our day, so much of our lives, being someone else, that when I invite you to come as you are, you might not even know whom you are anymore. You’re so far down the road of appearances that you have no idea how to start to finding your way out. We try to put on this Sunday face, this Sunday façade. We put on this mask in the one place where we should be most free to come as we really are.

Come as you- not as you think we want you to be, not as your mom wanted you to be, not as you want to be. Come as you are. Because we are never going to become the people we want to be, we are never going to be the accepting people and church we want to be if we start with masks on. Come as you are. Come with your hopes and your dreams, your glorious successes to celebrate, your awful defeats to find support, your joys and your pains, your gifts and your needs. Come as you are.

On Thanksgiving this past Monday my little philosopher Karis started asking my wife some questions while driving in our minivan. She asked if grown ups ever did anything bad? Don’t you love it that such questions are actually asked! Robin decided to protect her and said no, no grown up has ever done a bad thing in their life. Actually, she took it as an opportunity to talk about what we’re talking about- she said yes Karis, all this time. Robin said how every time she messes up she says a prayer in her heart to ask for forgiveness and ask for the strength, wisdom, and love she needs to try and not make the same sins and mistakes again. And because God loves her, she is forgiven. All was quiet. Karis was pondering these things in her heart.

Then Robin hears Karis whispering, “Eden, what if God doesn’t like us?” Eden replies, “Why are you whispering Karis?” “I don’t want him to hear me,” she says. “God can hear everything- even what you say in your head,” says Eden. “Well I can’t hear what I say in my own head.”

When we say, “Come as you are,” we are saying that we know you have done some bad things, even you adults. We’ve all done some bad things, we’ve all made some mistakes, none of us are perfect. We are also saying come as you are because God still likes us. More, God still loves us. And we’re saying come as you are because really, in the eyes of God, there’s no other way that we can come. God isn’t fooled by our whispers, our fronts and facades. God looks to the heart. And so we say come without the pretense, come without the lies, come as you are because that’s the only way that God sees us anyways.

But I think many of us are still wrestling with the question that starts as early as 5 years of age-

“What if God doesn’t like me? What if God doesn’t accept me? What if God doesn’t like me as I am?”

It’s a question that haunts many of us. More here than you might suspect. A nagging feeling, a heavy feeling that slips upon us in the quiet of the night, or even in the laughter of a party, that we are just not good enough. That we don’t measure up, even though we’re not sure what we’re being measured against. Feelings of guilt, which aren’t always bad feelings if we’ve done something we should feel guilty about. But for many of us it does deeper, it goes in our being, it goes into shame. This sense not that we’ve done some bad things, cause we’ve all done bad things, but this sense that we are bad people- bad, unlovable, unworthy, unacceptable.

Early in Jesus ministry he meet up with a two brothers named Simon and Andrew. Andrew was actually the first to meet up with Jesus, and he was so impressed with Jesus he immediately goes to his brother Simon, takes him to Jesus. Jesus says, “You’re Simon, son of John. You will be called Rock.” Yes, he actually said you will be called the Rock. Well Simon was so impressed, he went back to his boat and continued fishing.

Because some time later, we read in Luke 5:1-11…
Picture the scene- the boat just off shore, Simon and the gang cleaning their nets, Jesus teaching, and a huge crowd gathered. And after a bit Jesus says to Simon, put out to the deep water and throw your nets.

There are a few different options that Simon has here. Option one, he tells Jesus to shove off. They’ve worked all night long and caught nothing. They are tired, hungry and frustrated. And you now what, the last thing they are going to do is take fishing lessons from a traveling Rabbi. Jesus you stick to the preaching, we’ll stick to the fishing. And the result- nothing changes for Simon. He goes home, gets some rest, and goes at it again the next day.

Option two, he plays it a little more tactfully- you know Jesus, we’ve worked all night and didn’t catch a thing, and you know, as fun as that sounds right now, let’s just reschedule, Even later today. I’ll just run home, get some food, a little rest, put on a change of clothes, and then we’ll go out, I promise. The result- the same, nothing happens, nothing changes. Opportunity given, opportunity passed.

How often do we respond to the call of Jesus in the same way? Option one- we blow it off. Jesus, your demands are too hard, too unrealistic, too demanding. So forget it. Let’s just keep our relationship the way it is. You can stay on the boat with me, but I’m going about my business. I’m going to stick close to shore. Jesus, you can get onboard with my marriage, but I’m going to about things my way. You can get on board with my work, but I’m not changing the way I do business. Get on board with my parenting, but I’m not going to change the way I raise my kids. I’m going to stay close to the shore. The result- nothing changes, or at least not anything that takes us deeper into the waters of faith.

Option two- Jesus, I hear what your saying, and I think I understand what you’re saying, but you know, right now is not good for me. I’m tired. I’ve got other things on my plate. Now I want to obey, but let me get some things in order first. Let me get through school, or get this first year of work under my belt, or this second home paid for. Then I’ll push off into the deep. If Simon said, hey, let’s wait and hour, I believe he would have missed the moment. He would have missed the opportunity to leap, and he would have missed the opportunity to be part of a miracle. The result- nothing changes, and Jesus goes on to a different boat.

But there’s a third option, and it’s one the Simon ventures. I love how Simon puts this- Jesus, I want to be very clear about this, we’ve worked all night. We’ve caught nothing. You’re a preacher, we’re fishermen, we do this for a living. But out of respect, if I hear you right, we’re going to do this thing. And what he’s really saying, which in a moment becomes very significant, is that you Jesus, you will get all the responsibility, or the credit.

That’s perfect. I don’t think Jesus really asks anything more of us. It’s really rather unremarkable. Throw out your nets. But do it now. He’s done it a thousand times before. It’s not like the actual act of obedience was anything new. It was simply the context and the timing. Out of faith, out of obedience, listen to what I tell you to do now, and see what happens. And that’s how Jesus works with all his followers. He really asks nothing spectacular out of us. He asks for trust. Then he tells us to leave the results up to him.

A teacher named Ray VanderLaan helped me understand this. At this point in Jesus life and ministry he has achieve the status of a Master, of a Rabbi. In the Jewish culture there was not great position of honor and respect. In a crazy way it’s sort of like celebrity status today. People were fascinated by Rabbi’s, they revered them, they followed them, they wanted to be like them.

But very few were ever called to be Rabbi’s. Only the best of the best of the best. The ones that could memorize the first five books of the OT by age 10, the rest of the OT by age 14. These were the mutant kids going to professor Xavier’s school for gifted kids- they were awesome, but they were kind of outcasts.

So they would go and present themselves to a Rabbi. The Rabbi’s would ask them questions and get to know them. They’d assess these kids to see if they really had what it took, if they could really be like the Rabbi- to know what he knew, to do what he did, and then, to take it to the next level. And if they were good enough, worthy enough, acceptable in the sight of the Rabbi, they would invite them- follow me. But that was the best of the best of the best. The rest went on to the family trade. The rest did things like become fishermen because they didn’t have the right stuff.

Jesus is a rabbi. Jesus has crowds of people following him. Jesus actually has crowds of people hoping to be called by him. Jesus tells Simon to set sail and throw out the nets. So they set out, they throw down their nets, and you heard the story, you know what happened, they have a miraculous catch of fish- so many fish it becomes clear to everyone that this is not normal, this is not even natural. Something is happening here, it has some real significance and some real importance.

And what does Simon say?

“Jesus, go away from me, for I am a sinful man!”

Go away from me Jesus, I’m not worthy. Simon sees two things very clearly I this moment- two things with absolute crystal clarity. First, he sees that Jesus is no ordinary man. He sees that Jesus is Lord, Jesus is in fact the messiah, the one they’ve longed for. And that is very exciting.

But he sees something else in a way that perhaps he had never seen so clearly before. He sees his sin. He sees in the presence of Jesus’ miracle, in the presence of Jesus’ glory, that he has missed the mark, that he has fallen short, that he is a sinner. And in the presence of Jesus now, he is overcome with this most basic of human feelings, the most fundamental of human fears- what if God doesn’t like me?

It’s the most absurd thing he could have possibly said- it’s the most human response a person could have. I’m not worthy. I’m a sinner. Please leave me Jesus, because if you really get to know, if you really spend some time with me, you know what, I’m not the guy who will throw out his nets whenever you ask. I’m the guy who going screw up, and mess us, and fail you. I am not acceptable.

Jesus knows this, and he says the most amazing thing- don’t be afraid, follow me. He says Peter, come with me and I will make you a fisher of men. He is telling Peter, you are acceptable, you can follow me. You are worthy to follow a Rabbi- you are the best of the best of the best. But more, if you follow me, you are going to do what I do, you are going to become a fisher of men. You are going to go out into the world, you are going to call people, and you are going to catch them. They are going to follow. But they aren’t going to follow you, they are going to follow me. They are going to join you in following me.

Today, right now, some of us are hearing the call of Jesus for the first time. Some of us are hearing God speak into our hearts and we are hearing for the first time- you are acceptable. Follow me. And we whisper back, but what if you don’t like me? And Jesus is saying I know you, I know you inside and out, I was there when you were born, I’ve been there every step of the way, I’ve seen everything you done, I know every thought you’ve ever had, I know everything about you, and I know that terrifies you, and you want me to go away, but I’m telling you- follow me, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Follow me, because I love you, and I want you to be with me.

Some of us have heard this call from Jesus long ago, but we are still whispering in our heart, I don’t think God likes me, but today you are going to hear the Rabbi calling you to follow him, and you too will become a fisher of men. You are going to follow Jesus and he is going to do amazing things through you, and through this church. Because if there is anything this church believes, if there is anything we want to have grounded into the very fiber of our being, the DNA that comprises who we are and we are about it is this- you are accepted in Jesus. You are accepted and known by Jesus. You are accepted and loved by Jesus. You are accepted, and called, and will be used by Jesus.

The band is coming up…we are going to pray…some of us need to hear the call for the first time…some of us need to finally that that leap of faith, the leap of trust, embrace the acceptance of Jesus, and follow him, because we are accepted in the arms of our beloved.

Cultivating a Connecting Culture: A Culture of Trust

Cultivating a Connecting Culture: A Culture of Trust
September 30, 2007
Rev. George J. Saylor

During the next five services we want to be very intentional about the kind of culture that we are going to cultivate here at Connections in worship, in our home groups, and in our service to the community. We only have one chance to launch this thing for the first time- and we want to do it well. We want to do it with creativity, with authenticity, and with excellence.

And we get one shot at trying to create the DNA of this organism. One shot at infusing into the soil of this church the kinds of nutrients we think are essential. There are many many good things good nutrients, quantities, values, hopes, dreams that we can talk about. There are also many bad things, bad nutrients, attitudes and agendas that we believe could derail our vision. But we’ve narrowed it town to five major nutrients to cultivate a connecting culture; trust- acceptance- truth- healing- connection. I want to break that down for us this morning.

Cultivating- there are certain things we are powerless to do. In fact, when you really think about it, we are powerless to do or change a lot of things in life and this world. Our church has this vision, this mission, and this paradigm for doing ministry here- to see people connect with God, with people and with the world. But we are powerless to actually make you connect with God- I can’t force you into the relationship; I don’t even want to force you into the relationship. We are powerless to make you connect with people in the groups we want to keep growing. We are powerless to make you connect with the world- you might choose to stay neatly tucked in a little bubble of your own existence- we can’t make any of these connections happen- but we can, and we will cultivate the type of environment where this might happen.

The bible uses a lot of agricultural analogies. In one passage a man named Paul wanted to set straight how the church really worked- he said it wasn’t about him and what he did- he may have planted a seed, another guy might have watered it still another might actually harvest it, but none one them made it grow- only God did that. The church, this church, can only cultivate- cultivate an environment where God can do His thing- where God can make connections and make things grow.

What are we trying to cultivate- a connecting culture- that is an environment, an ecosystem, a soil where this happens- a culture where it is natural for people to find God, meet others, find purpose and meaning and direct in the world. A culture when the norm is to be growing and developing.

So we want to cultivate trust- acceptance- truth- healing- and connection. But it starts with trust. It always starts with trust. Trust is so foundational, so vital, so essential, that it is actually rather difficult to examine it. For years I was involved in campus ministry and higher education, and I taught courses on group dynamics and building community, and the way that we did this was with what we called initiative or ropes courses.

The first thing anybody ever does with the group in this kind of experiential education experiences- we talk about trust. We do this because the whole flow of the initiatives course, of the experiential education, depends on trust- cultivating an environment where the participants can trust the instructor, trust the equipment, and trust the team. If the team cannot cultivate and establish a trust, then they become stuck- they can’t move on. They can go on to the low ropes course, let alone the high elements. But if they can establish trust, then they can go on to try some amazing things. It takes work, it takes communication, it takes being intentional, it takes personal and group effort.

(Demonstrate trust fall with Andrew)

Trust is a very precious, and quite delicate thing, isn’t it? The thing sabout trust is that I could catch Andrew a thousand times, but all that trust would be gone the instant I dropped him. If one time I started to day dream, not pay attention, and let him crash to the floor and smash his head, the bond of trust would be broken. That’s the difficult nature of trust- hard to build up, easy to break. I could tell story after story of the trust issues that came out with classes that I taught and groups that I lead. Groups that never made it to the high ropes course elements because they couldn’t establish trust. People reduced to tears, people taken to the breaking point because we were trying to create a culture where trust could be established, and sometimes it would never happen.

Three areas of trust had to be established for the group to move forward. First, they had to trust the instructor. They had to have a level of confidence that the instructor knew what he or she was doing and had the group’s best interest at heart. What was consistently amazing to me was how hard it was for so many to make that simple first step- to trust the instructor.

Second, they had to trust the equipment. For some this was the most difficult area- to believe that ropes could hold them, the platforms, planks, high wires and ladders were reliable. They had an deep rooted inability to trust the actually physical structure of the ropes course.

Third, they had to trust the group. And here is where the learning and cultivating really came in. Here is where we always had the most difficulty. Here was where the real issues came out. The idea of trusting ones body, of trusting ones thoughts or feeling with the group.

I remember the first time I heard the question. And I want to ask the question to you this morning. And you’ve heard it before, but I’m hoping you’re at a place this morning that you’ll hear it the way I remember hearing it. That you’ll HEAR the question wash over you so that you might really begin to examine the answer. Are you ready, remember now, you’ve heard the words before, but I’m asking you to hear the question now, “What would it really take for you to trust?”

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us this bit of wisdom. Proverbs is this collection of all these pithy, wonderful sayings in the bible. It’s the “Things that make you go hummm” section of the bible. 3:5-6 tell us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

So let me pose that question in a little different light now, what would it look like to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding? Acknowledging, or putting God first in all things, in all areas of life- work, play, your family, your future, everything- trust that God will clear, make straight, a path for you? What does this kind of trust look like?

The bible tells story after story of what trusting God looks like. Last time we gathered I explained how the bible could be seen as a book telling the story of how God was re-connecting people with himself, with others, with the world. In that process of reconnecting we can also see the role that trust plays. Time and again, story after story, in fact with nearly every story, every person, is confronted with a choice- to trust God, or go their own way. To trust God and to fall into his arms, trusting he is there, trusting he will catch, trusting in his plan. Or don’t trust, don’t take the fall, walk away and play it safe.

Noah trusted that a flood was going to come, and so he built this gigantic ark to save humanity. Moses trusted God and confronted pharaoh, saying it’s time to abolish the slavery of my people even though your entire economy depends on it. Joshua trusted God and marched around a city seven times blowing a trumpet, a rather unconventional battle strategy to say the least. David trusted God and confronted a giant with only a slingshot. The kids this morning are learning how a man named Elijah trusted Go to provide for his needs, and was fed by bunch of crows and a widow and her son.

(Pick up water bottle) You know, one of the things I love the most about being a parent is the trust. Seeing how each of my kids is born trusting. They can’t help it, they have no other choice- they trust that they will be taken care of, fed and clothed, held and loved, protected and provided for. It’s like all of us are born with the well full of trust. It’s just there, it’s just full, and it’s just the way the world is supposed to be.

But then we start to grow and we start to get a taste of the world. And things start to happen, and the well of trust starts to get drained. And for most of us it happens a little bit at a time. You know, we trust our parents for something, and they let us down, and it’s like a little knife is jabbed into our trust. We tell a friend, then they go and tell someone else, and another jab in our trust. And we open our heart to someone, and then they start to take advantage of it, and another jab. And something horrible happens, maybe we’re violated in someway someone…or we lose our job…or we lose our health…or we lose a loved one…and all the while we keep taking these jabs and the trust just keeps draining out of our lives and before we know we are empty.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding- but George, you don’t understand, my heart’s been hurt, my heart’s been broken, my heart’s been burned, and I vowed, I pledged that never again would I be such a fool- never again would a trust my parents- never again would I trust man- never again would I trust a woman- never gain would I trust my spouse- never gain would I trust myself- never again would I trust God because I just don’t know if my heart can take it. Trust in God with all my heart, and lean not on my understanding- but my understanding is all I have. My understanding is the only thing that gets me through this world, my understanding is the only thing I can trust, my understanding is the only way I know how to survive.

I will tell you this today- I understand. I so understand. And I think others here understand as well. I think others here this morning have every reason in the world to legitimately say I will never trust again- I will not trust another person with my body, with my feelings, with my soul, and I will not trust God. We could call for open mic time and person after person, each and every one of you, could come up here and tell you story, and tell how your trust has been burned.

Some of you here today have every reason to never trust another person again. Some of you have every reason to never trust the world again. Some of you here believe you have every reason to never trust God again. But this morning I want try and give us some reason to trust again.

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, on the night that Jesus’ trust in his followers was going to be broken, on the very night when one on his best friends would set Jesus up to be captured and killed, on that night Jesus told that man, that group of friends, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.” John 14:1

Jesus then took some jabs in his trust, in his hands, and his feet. The story of our God is that of a God who trusted his son to us, and had that trust hung on a cross. Jesus trusted us with his love, and we drove nails through it. God knows how it feels to take hit on trust. He knows what it’s like to have that well punctured and run dry. God is not a God who stands callously by us as the trust is drained from our lives, but stands with us, ready to fill us up again. The bible tells us that by his wounds, by the wounds of Jesus, we are healed. By his wounds our trust can be restored.

What would it look like for you to begin putting your trust in Jesus? What would you try to do with your life? What would you do with your education? What would you do in your job? What great things would you go for? What goals would you set? What heights would you try to climb? Or conversely, how would you change the way to do business, write reports, practice law, medicine, whatever else?

What would it look like to trust Jesus with your relationships? To trust that God has someone special for you, and that you can wait for him or her? To trust that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do to find a meaningful relationship? To trust that God’s design for men and women and our relationships really is for our best interest and blessing?

What would it look like to trust your spouse again? To start the long road of reconciliation, to take small steps of trust? What would it look like to trust God for a fresh start? If the bottom has fallen out, if the relationship has ended, if you don’t know what or who is in your future? What would it look like to start trusting God?

What would it look like to trust God with our children? To trust that He loves them more than we ever could, that he does not want to see them sacrificed on the altars of this world- to greed and money and materialism and promiscuity and addition and abuse? To trust that God will make not just our paths straight, but the paths of our children? That if we cultivate the right kind of environment for them that they will thrive? What would it look like to be in a relationship with our kids where they knew they could trust us, and we knew we could trust them?

To cultivate this culture of trust in a ropes course you need three things- you need to trust the instructor, you need to trust the equipment, you need to trust the group.

Friends, for this culture to work, to try and do what we want to do here, we need three things as well. What would it look like for you to trust the instructor, to trust God? What would it look like for you to trust him with all your heart, and lean no on you own understanding?

We also need to trust our equipment, and by that I mean, ourselves, and how we are equipped. What would it look like to trust that God has equipped you with all the gifts and the talents that you need to fulfill his plans for your life? To trust that God made you they way you are for a reason- whether you’re a detail person or a visionary, a romantic or a realist, an introvert or an extrovert, however God equipped you, can you trust that that’s exactly what God needs in you to fulfill your purpose in this world?

And finally, what would it look like to trust the team, to trust this group, to trust the church? To trust that together we can accomplish more than we could ever dream as individuals. That together we can experience more joy and meaning than we ever could alone. To trust that the church is worthy of our time, of our efforts, of our giving, of bringing our friends?

To make this happen, we have to take the fall. We have to turn out back, fold our arms, and fall into the arms of God and into the arms of other people. We won’t be foolish about it. If I’m going to fall into your arms I’m gonna check, are you ready, I might even ask again, I may even turn around just to be sure, but then I want to fall, I want to trust- because it is a rush.

Friends, there’s nothing like it. There’s nothing quite like believing in a group of people so much you’ll fall backwards off a 6 foot deck. There’s nothing like climbing 50ft over the ground and leaping from a pole, knowing that your belay is gonna catch you, your team is gonna cheer you on.

And there’s nothing like trusting God- trusting him for our eternity, trusting him for our here and now. Trusting him to lead and guide and make our paths straight.

A year ago my family heard the call of God. He used a lot of people, a lot of doors opening, a lot of doors closing, a lot of things coming together to show us a clear path. And when we felt confident that we hadn’t conjured up this dream in our minds, we took the trust fall. The bible says that Abram left his country, his land, his people, and he went where God called him to go. He believed a promise that through this action, this trust, that a nation would be born, and that the world would be blessed. He really didn’t know much anything else.

I don’t know where this is going folks, but we left our country, our land, our church, our people, and our friends. We came to London to start Connections Community Church because we wanted to listen to where God was calling, and maybe, maybe through this trust, we might be a blessing. Maybe even a blessing for the whole world. We’ll trust God, and see what happens.