More Than Self-Help
Rev. Dr. Eddie Bromley Grace Church 29 March 2009
Selected Reading from the Lectionary Cycle.
__________________________________________________
[I want the Scripture reader to stay up front the whole time to read the Texts as directed]
In many ways the Self-help movement has been a phenomenal success. Some of the best-selling books all time have been self-help books. I’ve read a number of them and bet some of you have too. Some of these books have been tremendously helpful. Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People has taught millions of people the importance of relationships in all that we do. It is not enough just to acquire skills, knowledge, and proficiency in an area. Without also have some skills of working with people, we will never go as far as might like. Carnegie has taught us that many of us can benefit from being more focused on people and less focused on things.
Norman Vincent Peale in his book The Power of Positive Thinking has shown countless people how we often allow ourselves to be defeated in our minds long before we ever step out onto the court to play the game. Peale has taught us that we often lose or fail to get ahead because we expect to lose and stay behind. When we can change our negative thinking to positive thinking, we will often see different results in the goals we attempt to achieve.
Stephen Covey’s book the The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People teaches us that in order to get ahead in life, we have to have a plan to get ahead. We have to have a plan and work the plan to get out of life all that we hope.
I highlight these books to say that the Self-help movement has enabled countless people to tackle some of the most vexing problems in life. They have helped countless people to live more joy-filled, productive, and satisfying lives. But of the biggest problem facing the human race, the self-help movement has nothing to offer.
The biggest problem facing our world today is not environmental pollution, or war, or AIDS, or poverty, or cancer, or immorality. All of these are big problems, but each is only a symptom of a much greater problem the Bible calls SIN.
[ I would Like to have Power Point with the word Sin in Big Bold Letters]
According to the Bible, something is profoundly wrong with our world and with us. Though we were created by a good God who loves us and treasures us, at the heart of who we are, at the heart of creation, something is profoundly broken. This is what we mean by sin. And sin, needs a solution bigger than the solutions on offer from the self-help movement. The only real solution is the Gospel and the Gospel is a lot more than self-help.
FIRST READING
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (New Living Translation)
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
[power point of Ronald McDonald]
In Jeremiah, we are reminded of humankind’s tendency to wander from God, to forget our maker. Through the prophet Jeremiah God reminds us that God himself had done everything faithfully to keep up his end of the relationship. Graciously, he had called a people to himself and had made the expectations clear. They would be his people and He would be there God. He would give them all that they needed for abundant life. They would live in faithful obedience. But again and again, they, we walked away from God and forgot the one who called us as his own. Jeremiah reminds us not only of the disobedience and unfaithfulness of some ancient Jewish folk, but reminds us of our own disobedience and unfaithfulness to God. As the old hymn penned the words, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart; o’ take and seal it for thy courts above.”
In the documentary Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock ate exclusively at McDonald's restaurants, for three meals a day. At the conclusion of his 30-day experiment, Spurlock found himself 25-pounds heavier and in poor health.
The documentary contains one telling scene regarding small children and the power of media. It occurs when Spurlock shows a series of pictures to several 1st grade students, asking each one to identify the individual in the picture.
The first picture is of George Washington. Though a few struggle, most are able to identify him and make statements (if not entirely accurate) about who he is:
"He was the fourth president."
"He could never tell a lie."
The viewing audience cannot see the next picture shown to the children. "Who is this?" Spurlock asks.
One little girl shrugs her shoulders, another shakes her head, but only one even offers a guess.
"George W. Bush?"
"No," says Spurlock, "but that's a good guess."
Spurlock turns the picture around to reveal a painting of Jesus.
The last picture was of Ronald McDonald. Every child was immediately and enthusiastically able to name the hamburger clown.
Content: Rated PG-13
Elapsed Time: 00:44:52 to 00:46:10, DVD scene 18
Super Size Me (Samuel Goldwyn and Showtime Independent Films, 2004); produced and directed by Morgan Spurlock; submitted by David Slagle, Atlanta, Georgia
SECOND READING
[followed by Power point of boomerang]
Psalm 51
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.[a] 5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 But you desire honesty from the womb,[b] teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins,[c] and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit[d] from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
In Jeremiah, we confront something true of the whole human race, our collective tendency to wander from God. But in Psalm 51 it becomes personal. It is about confessing that that bent of sin in us, in me. This is where so many get stuck; because, they don’t mind thinking about sin in general, or even about others being in need of God’s redemptive work. They have no problems acknowledging that if God does not intervene, the world and humankind will never be made right. But they themselves have trouble admitting that if they are ever going to be made whole, God is going to have to do something in their own life.
Psalm 51 is about confessing, that is calling our own sin by its proper name – sin. And until we come clean about our own need for redemptive grace, we will make no real spiritual progress.
While visiting Mount Isa, Australia, in 1983, an American man stole a boomerang from a local art museum. Twenty-five years later, he returned it with a check and a note of apology. "I was younger and dumber," he wrote. "It was the wrong thing to do; I'm sorry." Though the man included his full contact information, the mayor of Mount Isa has decided he will not disclose the man's identity to the authorities or the local press. The mayor explained, "I think putting his name on [his letter] was part of his purifying effort."
Kevin Miller, executive vice president, Christianity Today International, and Brian Lowery, associate editor, PreachingToday.com; source: "It wasn't all bad," The Week (2-1-08)
THIRD READING
[followed by powerpoint of prom]
Hebrews 5:5-10 (New Living Translation)
5 That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,
“You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.[a]”
6 And in another passage God said to him,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. 10 And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Our text from Hebrews brings us face to face with the fact that Jesus did for us something we could not do for ourselves. If you or I believe we will go to heaven because we have always been honest or never harmed any one, or have lived a good life, we are simply denying what the Scriptures teach about the human predicament. It is true that a reformed character is evidence of the kind of change Christ will make in the heart and it is also true that sterile belief in Christian doctrine without a change of heart is not Christian faith. However, we do not earn heaven and eternal life by being good. And no one goes to heaven because they have lived a decent enough life.
Our only true confidence about heaven and eternal life rests in what Jesus has done for us, in his precious blood and sacrificial love. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves and has given a place in heaven for everyone who trusts in his name.
Alexandra Flynn of Fremont, Nebraska, was looking forward to the 2002 homecoming dance. She left home in high spirits, but she did not have her high school ID with her. When the man at the door refused her admission without her ID, she went home to get it.
Unable to find it, her mother went with her back to the dance to identify her and to explain. Again, the daughter was refused admission without the ID. Alex had the tickets in her hand but still was not admitted. Even though Alexandra Flynn of Freemont High is Student Body President, plays cello in the Allstate orchestra, is on the Honor Roll, is the school's number one cheerleader, and she spent hours decorating the gym for the Homecoming Dance, she was still not admitted.
Did I mention she was homecoming queen?
But, she never did get in.
In a similar way, getting into heaven isn't a matter of our good deeds and accomplishments. Without Jesus Christ, we have no ID to get into heaven.
Ronald Erb, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania; source: Paul Harvey News and Comment (12-3-02)
FOURTH READING [followed by power point of chess pieces]
John 12:20-33 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Predicts His Death
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man[a] to enter into his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
The message of the Christian Gospel is that our problem, the problem of humankind, the problem of all creation was and is so bad, so problematic and dire that it took a radical solution. Self-help was not going to be enough. A good pep talk was not going to cut it. Getting everyone educated could not bring about the desired results. Getting out the vote was not going to usher in utopia. Putting the right laws on the books was not going to straighten it out. The cost of redemption was great because the problem was profoundly bleak.
Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. This is the unspoken premise of the game of chess, for example. When the king falls, the kingdom is lost. Therefore, the king must be protected at all costs. Another notable example comes from the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill desperately wanted to join the expeditionary forces and watch the invasion from the bridge of a battleship in the English Channel. U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower was desperate to stop him, for fear that the Prime Minister might be killed in battle. When it became apparent that Churchill would not be dissuaded, Eisenhower appealed to a higher authority: King George VI. The king went and told Churchill that if it was the Prime Minister's duty to witness the invasion, he could only conclude that it was also his own duty as king to join him on the battleship. At this point Churchill reluctantly agreed to back down, for he knew that he could never expose the King of England to such danger.
King Jesus did exactly the opposite. With royal courage he surrendered his body to be crucified. On the cross he offered a king's ransom: his life for the life of his people. He would die for all the wrong things that we had ever done and would do, completely atoning for all our sins. The crown of thorns that was meant to make a mockery of his royal claims actually proclaimed his kingly dignity, even in death.
From Philip Ryken's sermon "Long Live the King!" PreachingToday.com
Rev. Dr. Eddie Bromley Grace Church 29 March 2009
Selected Reading from the Lectionary Cycle.
__________________________________________________
[I want the Scripture reader to stay up front the whole time to read the Texts as directed]
In many ways the Self-help movement has been a phenomenal success. Some of the best-selling books all time have been self-help books. I’ve read a number of them and bet some of you have too. Some of these books have been tremendously helpful. Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People has taught millions of people the importance of relationships in all that we do. It is not enough just to acquire skills, knowledge, and proficiency in an area. Without also have some skills of working with people, we will never go as far as might like. Carnegie has taught us that many of us can benefit from being more focused on people and less focused on things.
Norman Vincent Peale in his book The Power of Positive Thinking has shown countless people how we often allow ourselves to be defeated in our minds long before we ever step out onto the court to play the game. Peale has taught us that we often lose or fail to get ahead because we expect to lose and stay behind. When we can change our negative thinking to positive thinking, we will often see different results in the goals we attempt to achieve.
Stephen Covey’s book the The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People teaches us that in order to get ahead in life, we have to have a plan to get ahead. We have to have a plan and work the plan to get out of life all that we hope.
I highlight these books to say that the Self-help movement has enabled countless people to tackle some of the most vexing problems in life. They have helped countless people to live more joy-filled, productive, and satisfying lives. But of the biggest problem facing the human race, the self-help movement has nothing to offer.
The biggest problem facing our world today is not environmental pollution, or war, or AIDS, or poverty, or cancer, or immorality. All of these are big problems, but each is only a symptom of a much greater problem the Bible calls SIN.
[ I would Like to have Power Point with the word Sin in Big Bold Letters]
According to the Bible, something is profoundly wrong with our world and with us. Though we were created by a good God who loves us and treasures us, at the heart of who we are, at the heart of creation, something is profoundly broken. This is what we mean by sin. And sin, needs a solution bigger than the solutions on offer from the self-help movement. The only real solution is the Gospel and the Gospel is a lot more than self-help.
FIRST READING
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (New Living Translation)
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
[power point of Ronald McDonald]
In Jeremiah, we are reminded of humankind’s tendency to wander from God, to forget our maker. Through the prophet Jeremiah God reminds us that God himself had done everything faithfully to keep up his end of the relationship. Graciously, he had called a people to himself and had made the expectations clear. They would be his people and He would be there God. He would give them all that they needed for abundant life. They would live in faithful obedience. But again and again, they, we walked away from God and forgot the one who called us as his own. Jeremiah reminds us not only of the disobedience and unfaithfulness of some ancient Jewish folk, but reminds us of our own disobedience and unfaithfulness to God. As the old hymn penned the words, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart; o’ take and seal it for thy courts above.”
In the documentary Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock ate exclusively at McDonald's restaurants, for three meals a day. At the conclusion of his 30-day experiment, Spurlock found himself 25-pounds heavier and in poor health.
The documentary contains one telling scene regarding small children and the power of media. It occurs when Spurlock shows a series of pictures to several 1st grade students, asking each one to identify the individual in the picture.
The first picture is of George Washington. Though a few struggle, most are able to identify him and make statements (if not entirely accurate) about who he is:
"He was the fourth president."
"He could never tell a lie."
The viewing audience cannot see the next picture shown to the children. "Who is this?" Spurlock asks.
One little girl shrugs her shoulders, another shakes her head, but only one even offers a guess.
"George W. Bush?"
"No," says Spurlock, "but that's a good guess."
Spurlock turns the picture around to reveal a painting of Jesus.
The last picture was of Ronald McDonald. Every child was immediately and enthusiastically able to name the hamburger clown.
Content: Rated PG-13
Elapsed Time: 00:44:52 to 00:46:10, DVD scene 18
Super Size Me (Samuel Goldwyn and Showtime Independent Films, 2004); produced and directed by Morgan Spurlock; submitted by David Slagle, Atlanta, Georgia
SECOND READING
[followed by Power point of boomerang]
Psalm 51
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.[a] 5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 But you desire honesty from the womb,[b] teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins,[c] and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit[d] from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
In Jeremiah, we confront something true of the whole human race, our collective tendency to wander from God. But in Psalm 51 it becomes personal. It is about confessing that that bent of sin in us, in me. This is where so many get stuck; because, they don’t mind thinking about sin in general, or even about others being in need of God’s redemptive work. They have no problems acknowledging that if God does not intervene, the world and humankind will never be made right. But they themselves have trouble admitting that if they are ever going to be made whole, God is going to have to do something in their own life.
Psalm 51 is about confessing, that is calling our own sin by its proper name – sin. And until we come clean about our own need for redemptive grace, we will make no real spiritual progress.
While visiting Mount Isa, Australia, in 1983, an American man stole a boomerang from a local art museum. Twenty-five years later, he returned it with a check and a note of apology. "I was younger and dumber," he wrote. "It was the wrong thing to do; I'm sorry." Though the man included his full contact information, the mayor of Mount Isa has decided he will not disclose the man's identity to the authorities or the local press. The mayor explained, "I think putting his name on [his letter] was part of his purifying effort."
Kevin Miller, executive vice president, Christianity Today International, and Brian Lowery, associate editor, PreachingToday.com; source: "It wasn't all bad," The Week (2-1-08)
THIRD READING
[followed by powerpoint of prom]
Hebrews 5:5-10 (New Living Translation)
5 That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,
“You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.[a]”
6 And in another passage God said to him,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. 10 And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Our text from Hebrews brings us face to face with the fact that Jesus did for us something we could not do for ourselves. If you or I believe we will go to heaven because we have always been honest or never harmed any one, or have lived a good life, we are simply denying what the Scriptures teach about the human predicament. It is true that a reformed character is evidence of the kind of change Christ will make in the heart and it is also true that sterile belief in Christian doctrine without a change of heart is not Christian faith. However, we do not earn heaven and eternal life by being good. And no one goes to heaven because they have lived a decent enough life.
Our only true confidence about heaven and eternal life rests in what Jesus has done for us, in his precious blood and sacrificial love. He did for us what we could never do for ourselves and has given a place in heaven for everyone who trusts in his name.
Alexandra Flynn of Fremont, Nebraska, was looking forward to the 2002 homecoming dance. She left home in high spirits, but she did not have her high school ID with her. When the man at the door refused her admission without her ID, she went home to get it.
Unable to find it, her mother went with her back to the dance to identify her and to explain. Again, the daughter was refused admission without the ID. Alex had the tickets in her hand but still was not admitted. Even though Alexandra Flynn of Freemont High is Student Body President, plays cello in the Allstate orchestra, is on the Honor Roll, is the school's number one cheerleader, and she spent hours decorating the gym for the Homecoming Dance, she was still not admitted.
Did I mention she was homecoming queen?
But, she never did get in.
In a similar way, getting into heaven isn't a matter of our good deeds and accomplishments. Without Jesus Christ, we have no ID to get into heaven.
Ronald Erb, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania; source: Paul Harvey News and Comment (12-3-02)
FOURTH READING [followed by power point of chess pieces]
John 12:20-33 (New Living Translation)
Jesus Predicts His Death
20 Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration 21 paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man[a] to enter into his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
30 Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate how he was going to die.
The message of the Christian Gospel is that our problem, the problem of humankind, the problem of all creation was and is so bad, so problematic and dire that it took a radical solution. Self-help was not going to be enough. A good pep talk was not going to cut it. Getting everyone educated could not bring about the desired results. Getting out the vote was not going to usher in utopia. Putting the right laws on the books was not going to straighten it out. The cost of redemption was great because the problem was profoundly bleak.
Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. This is the unspoken premise of the game of chess, for example. When the king falls, the kingdom is lost. Therefore, the king must be protected at all costs. Another notable example comes from the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill desperately wanted to join the expeditionary forces and watch the invasion from the bridge of a battleship in the English Channel. U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower was desperate to stop him, for fear that the Prime Minister might be killed in battle. When it became apparent that Churchill would not be dissuaded, Eisenhower appealed to a higher authority: King George VI. The king went and told Churchill that if it was the Prime Minister's duty to witness the invasion, he could only conclude that it was also his own duty as king to join him on the battleship. At this point Churchill reluctantly agreed to back down, for he knew that he could never expose the King of England to such danger.
King Jesus did exactly the opposite. With royal courage he surrendered his body to be crucified. On the cross he offered a king's ransom: his life for the life of his people. He would die for all the wrong things that we had ever done and would do, completely atoning for all our sins. The crown of thorns that was meant to make a mockery of his royal claims actually proclaimed his kingly dignity, even in death.
From Philip Ryken's sermon "Long Live the King!" PreachingToday.com
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