304 Sermon Illustrations on Church

A message in the form of a letter from Monsignor Bonomelli was read to the delegates attending the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh, June, 1910, part of which reads:

All of you feel the need of a church, which may be the outward manifestation of your faith and religious feeling, the vigilant custodian now and here of Christian doctrine and tradition. It sustains and keeps alive religion and individual activity, in virtue of that strong power of suggestion, which collectively always exercises on the individual.

“Sir,” exclaims Johnson, “it is a very dangerous thing for a man not to belong to any church!”

And this is true. How many of us would fall a thousand times were it not for this support!

From the various churches and religious denominations, into which you Christians are divided, there arises a new unifying element, a noble aspiration, restraining too great impulsiveness, leveling dividing barriers, and working for the realization of the one holy church through all the children of redemption.

Dr. Donald Sage Mackay remarks on the effects on communities of neglect of church attendance:

One of the papers in New York has been making a personal examination into the political morals of a certain New England State. It has been alleged that politically that State is rotten, that its voters are regularly bought and sold at every election. A detailed description of each of the most corrupt towns in that State was given, and this was the appalling fact brought out: The worst towns (some of them with a few hundred inhabitants), where bribery was most persistent, where illegal liquor-selling was most rampant, where immorality was most flagrant, were those towns in which there was no resident minister and where no Christian service was regularly held. For instance, in one town known as “darkest Exeter,” there were twenty years ago six churches; four of them are in ruins to-day, two are occasionally used, but there is no resident minister. The result is “darkest Exeter”--a New England farming town, once peopled by the sturdy sons of the Pilgrim, heir to all the noble qualities of a sturdy race.--“The Religion of the Threshold.”

Mr. Beecher arose in his pulpit Sunday after Sunday for forty years with the invariable fortune of looking at a crowded congregation, tho the most eloquent political orator in the country can not draw the same people to hear him five times in succession. A country town of 3,000 people will support from five to ten churches when it will hardly pay the rent of an amusement hall. For centuries, against intellectual doubt and the weakness of the flesh, the Christian religion has more than held its own in Europe and America, and while the theater could attract only by a continually changing appeal to curiosity, the church has retained its power with slight change and with only enough flexibility to adjust its forms of government to the character of different people.--Kansas City _Times_.

J. S. Cheavens remembers the church in the country in a poem, of which a part is here given:

In pillar’d aisles of vast cathedrals old, Ablaze with splendor, garish gilt and gold, Where clouds of incense ever seemed to dwell, And rhythmic waves of music rose and fell-- I’ve heard the priest, in pomp of vain attire, Prate ancient prayers that did no soul inspire, Nor reach God’s ear. Religion’s whited tomb, Appalling in its cold sepulchral gloom!

How far removed by all vain rules of art, Yet deep enshrined within my loyal heart, Is that plain building, simple, unadorned, Loved by a few, altho by many scorned-- Unknown by those who seek wealth, power or place, But very dear to those who seek His face-- The Country Church! O holy, holy ground, For there the Lord Himself is sought and found!

Mr. Spurgeon had occasion, some time ago, says the Hartford _Courant_, to speak to a company of theological students on the importance of using illustrations in preaching.

A student observed that they found it difficult to get illustrations, whereupon Mr. Spurgeon remarked that illustrations enough might be found in a tallow candle. This was regarded as an extravagance of speech, whereupon the great preacher prepared a lecture to show what might be illustrated by candles. In delivering his lecture he used candles of various sizes and colors, together with lanterns and other suitable apparatus. A nicely japanned but shut-up box filled with fine unused candles illustrated an idle and spiritless church. Several colossal and highly-colored but unlit candles were shown, and with them a tiny rushlight shining as best it could. The big, handsome, unlit candles might be archbishops or doctors of divinity, or other persons of culture without piety, and the bright rushlight might be some poor boy in a workshop whose life is beautiful. Mr. Spurgeon showed an unlighted candle in a splendid silver candlestick, and then a brightly burning one stuck in a ginger-beer bottle. He showed what a few people might do by combining their good efforts, by exhibiting the combined light of twelve candles. The folly of trying to light a candle with the extinguisher still on was shown, and the dark-lantern illustrated the care of people who make no effort to let their light shine before men. The lecturer then placed a candle under a bushel, and afterward placed the bushel-measure under the candle--the point of which was obvious. In snuffing a candle he extinguished it, and remarked that Christians often did a like mischief by unwise rebukes and criticisms. The folly of burning the candle at both ends was illustrated. The last illustration was a number of lighted candles of various hues placed together on one stand, representing the Church’s true diversity in unity, all the different branches burning from one stem, and for one purpose. Some one in the audience asked if the “dips” did not give the best light, whereupon Mr. Spurgeon said he was not sure of that, and thought many of the “dips” would be the better for another dipping.

The man of genius can find illustrations in common things--sermons in stones or in candles. Every preacher should work these mines of natural analogies.

Chubby Jason Geartz was so bad in church they got a court injunction to keep him from attending. His mother Sheryl thought he needed good influence. But he threw spitballs and other objects, fought, yelled and set off a fire alarm in the Grace Episcopal Church in Topeka, Kansas. Church tried to help them but nothing worked. They finally asked Mrs. Geartz to stop bringing Jason. She refused. Three times she found men blocking the doors. Once the police were called to escort them away. Finally church officials filed a temporary restraining order. She has decided not to hire a lawyer.

NEW YEARS DAY sermon:

"CAN OLD THINGS BECOME NEW?" Luke 5:36-39

I. The need for renewal.

A. New Year's resolutions remind us of need to change.

B. Is dramatic change possible?

1) People tend to resist change.

2) When people claim to change, most others are skeptical.

C. Often, dramatic change isn't a wish, but an absolute necessity.

D. The Bible says people can, and must, change.

1) "Except you are born again, you won't enter kingdom of God."

2) Conversion may start small, but has a big impact.

3) Analogies from self-help groups.

4) Don't just believe in Jesus - do what he says.

II. Old vs. new. (The reason for resistance)

A. We feel safe with what is old and tried-and-true.

B. Jesus brought something totally new and exciting.

III. Being open to newness.

A. Churches certainly resist change.

B. Churches can change.

IV. What will we change about ourselves? Our church? [1740]

*

A tale is told of a sea captain who wandered into a church on Cape Cod in the 1880s. He sat down, leaving his captain's hat on his head. The ushers were aghast. Whispers were rampant. Finally, two ushers decided to tactfully tell him he needed to remove his cap in church. He refused, citing the sign outside that read, "All welcome." He felt that meant him, hat and all. Rumor has it that after he left the service that day the trustees went outside and took down the sign!

Growing up on the Atlantic Coast, I spent long hours working on intricate sand castles; whole cities would appear beneath my hands.

One year, for several days in a row, I was accosted by bullies who smashed my creations. Finally I tried an experiment: I placed cinder blocks, rocks, and chunks of concrete in the base of my castles. Then I built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks.

When the local toughs appeared (and I disappeared), their bare feet suddenly met their match.

Many people see the church in grave peril from variety of dangers: secularism, politics, heresies, or plain old sin. They forget that the church is built upon a Rock (Mt. 16:18), over which the gates of hell itself shall not prevail.

EVANGELICALISM STRESSES THE ATTRACTION OF THE GOSPEL

Evangelicalism is committed to evangelism - that is, the proclamation of the gospel in the full confidence that it contains something God-given that will enable it to find a response in the hearts and minds of men and women. Evangelism is natural to evangelicals. “The church,” wrote Emil Brunner, “lives by mission as a fire lives by burning.” Evangelism is something intrinsic to the identity of the church - not an optional extra, but something that is part and parcel of its very being.

To give such an emphasis to evangelism is thus to recognize both the inherent rightness of the gospel and its intrinsic attractiveness. That attraction is supremely the person of Jesus Christ. It is a “pearl of great price,” something that is recognized to be worth seeking and possessing, and whose possession overshadows everything else. Evangelicalism thus fosters an attitude of expectation - an expectation that the gospel will be a delight and joy to others. This is coupled with a systematic endeavor to uncover the ways in which the inherent appeal of the gospel can be best articulated, in the certainty that this appeal rests on a reliable and responsible historical and theological foundation.

It must be stressed that there is no question of altering the gospel to make it more attractive. For evangelicalism, that is the supreme error of liberalism - doing violence to the gospel itself in an attempt to make it more easily acceptable to modern culture. The issue is ensuring that the gospel is preached faithfully for all it is worth, without the misrepresentations that cause offense to so many.

Many secular writers respond to this emphasis on evangelism by reaching for the nearest cliche and writing of “Christian imperialism”; others suggest that the churches have become obsessed with marketing their product, presenting evangelism as some kind of religious public-relations industry.

Both these comments are deeply revealing of the failure of an increasingly secular society to understand the primary motivation for evangelism. The fundamental motivation for evangelism is generosity - the basic human concern to share the good things of life with those we love. It does not reflect a desire to sell or dominate; it arises from love and compassion on the part of those who have found something wonderful and want others to share in its joy. It is, as the old adage has it, like one beggar telling another where to find bread. [paragraph used 8/24/97]

A central task of evangelism is to make Christianity credible in the modern world. The area of Christian thought that has dealt with this matter is apologetics - the “defense of the faith,” to give a rough translation of the Greek word apologia, used in 1 Peter 3:15. A good working definition of apologetics would be “the attempt to create an intellectual climate favorable to Christian faith” or “a concern to enhance the public plausibility of the gospel.” In the past, apologetics has been a significant aspect of the ongoing mission of the church, to which evangelicals have made a contribution. [paragraph used 8/24/97]

Yet the situation in which the Western church finds itself has radically changed, with the dawn of a post-Enlightenment world. The rise of the movement usually called postmodernism is a telling sign of the loss of confidence in reason and “modern” ideas and values in today’s culture. The rise of postmodernism reflects the seriously eroded credibility of a universal rationality once regarded as central to “liberal” theological method. As liberal commentator Eugene Borowitz remarks, “Liberalism lost its cultural hegemony largely because of the demythologization of its allies, universal rationalism and science. At one time we thought them not only our finest sources of truth but our surest means to human ennoblement. Today the sophisticated know that they deal only in possible ‘constructions of reality,’ and the masses sense that they commend ethical relativism more than necessary values and duties.”

Liberalism has thus lost its credibility in the area of apologetics; that mantle has passed to evangelicalism. And evangelicalism is becoming increasingly confident in its presentation of both the truth and the attractiveness of the gospel.

However, for many people, a concern with “truth” has become irrelevant. The first question people tend to ask these days is not “Is this right?” but “What will this do for me?” The rise of what Tom Wolfe called the “Me Generation” has necessarily led to a focusing of apologetics on the relevance of the gospel to the needs of individuals. This person-centered apologetics aims to remain faithful to the gospel while ensuring that it fully addresses the contemporary situation.

But we do not need to throw away Christianity’s claims to truth in light of this cultural development. We just need to realize that it is now bad tactics to major on the truth question. If we are going to get a hearing in today’s culture, we need to be able to show that Christianity has something relevant and attractive to offer. The bonus is that this attraction is securely grounded in God’s self-revelation, not invented yesterday in an effort to get a hearing in the marketplace. Thus we may commend the attractiveness of Christianity while resting securely in the knowledge of its truth.

EVANGELICALISM SHUNS “DENOMINATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY”

One factor that has crippled attempts at collaboration among mainline denominations has been the issue of “denominational sovereignty.” This term was coined by Francis Potter at the 1944 Golden Jubilee of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America to refer to the struggle of various Protestant denominations to dominate any cooperative movements of which they participated. Within both the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches (NCC) in the United States, the institutional interests of the denominations are fought over, often with a ferocity that alarms their constituent members. In addition to its commitment to an outdated liberal theology that nobody seems to want anymore, the NCC has to cope with the strident ecclesiological claims of its constituent churches. It is little wonder that the NCC has seemed to lurch from one crisis to another.

In part, the success and attraction of evangelicalism rests on its relative immunity to such squabbles. Evangelicalism has been no stranger to controversy; yet the fact that it is not a denomination in itself has allowed evangelicals of all kinds to see themselves as committed to something that transcends denominational divisions and rivalries. An evangelical inside a mainline denomination, for example, will feel a far greater sense of affinity with fellow evangelicals outside that denomination than with fellow members of that denomination who deny or challenge central aspects of the Christian faith.

But the real points at issue run much deeper than this and center on the role of charismatic leaders and the necessity of a specific church structure for ensuring salvation of church members. By playing down the importance of denominational allegiance, evangelicalism is able to maximize the use of charismatic gifts among its leaders - gifts that would probably be suppressed within mainline denominations. The importance of this point may be appreciated if we consider the situation in Latin America, where evangelicalism is making huge advances at the expense of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the reasons for this, as David Stoll explains, is the rise of charismatic leaders: “Whereas evangelical structures provide ample room for the power of personal charisma, enabling new leaders to organize their own, equally legitimate churches, the Catholic structure of appointment from above is calculated to keep charisma under strict control, if not stifle it altogether. It is not hard to see which system will prosper at a time in history that ruptures old social bonds and forces personal initiative. Evangelicals can break away and remain evangelical, but Catholics who reject the authority of their clergy may well become evangelicals.”

It is at this point that the second factor noted above comes into the equation. Evangelicalism insists that it is not necessary to be a member of a specific denomination in order to be saved; it is necessary only to repent of one’s sins and believe the true gospel. The Roman Catholic Church, however, generally remains committed to the more restricted idea that it is necessary to be a member of the “true church” - which, historically, it has identified as itself - in order to be saved. Although the Second Vatican Council softened this position significantly, the maxim “Outside the church there is no salvation” continues to have a deep impact on Catholic reflection.

Evangelicalism rejects the idea that “the church” can in any way be equated with one ecclesiastical body. The true church is found wherever the gospel is truly preached and truly received. Denominational allegiance is clearly of less than ultimate significance; the criterion of being saved has nothing to do with which church or fellowship one attends, but with whether one has heard and responded to the gospel. In an age in which social mobility has emerged as a major cultural force, evangelical ecclesiology has proved to be a winner.

Let me stress that I am not for one moment suggesting that this evangelical view of the church was formulated in an opportunistic manner, with an eye to benefiting from this development! I am simply pointing out that this long- standing aspect of evangelicalism happens to meet up exactly with a significant current in the global cultural changes of our times.

FACING THE DARK SIDE

The picture sketched here runs the risk of being too optimistic, perhaps even unrealistic at points. There are a number of serious matters of a more negative nature that need to be addressed. While evangelicalism has considerable attractions and strengths, it also has its darker side. The following areas could be noted:

Borrowed spiritualities. The powerful thrust of major evangelistic campaigns runs the risk of being dissipated unless those who come to faith are kept in faith by every proper means of spiritual nourishment, encouragement, and guidance. My concern is that evangelicals have not paid anything like the necessary attention to this major theme of Christian life and thought. It has depended on the insights of others, while ignoring its own rich resources. It is time to throw off the cult of dependency and move toward the development and rediscovery of spiritualities that will complement the great evangelical emphases on the sufficiency of Scripture, the centrality of the death of Christ, the need for personal conversion, and the evangelistic imperative.

Guilt trips and burnout. A deficient understanding of the Reformation doctrine of “knowledge of sin” has led to defeated Christians who suffer from guilt trips and burnout. There is a real need to develop authentically Christian understandings of self-esteem that challenge the secular view of self-sufficiency and affirm our dependence on God - without destroying a person’s self-worth in the presence of God.

Dogmatism. It is no secret that many people are alienated from some forms of evangelicalism by what they regard as its intensely dogmatic attitudes. Dogmatism is probably best defined as “a refusal to allow disagreement or doubt.” The problem has two aspects: the emphasis it places on certainty, which causes difficulties for those experiencing doubt; and the kinds of things that some evangelicals choose to be dogmatic about, for which, in reality, there are a variety of evangelical options available (for example, how to relate to mainline Protestantism, the precise way the authority of Scripture is stated and defended, the place of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life, the role of women in the church).

Personality cults. Trust in God can easily become muddled with trusting someone who claims to speak, with authority, on his behalf. The problem concerns the personality cults that grow up around leading figures in the evangelical world. There is a real danger of scandal and disillusionment here.

I happen to believe that these weaknesses can be corrected and that the outcome of such a process of correction will be enriching both to evangelicalism and to Christianity as a whole. Yet evangelicalism has been reluctant to acknowledge its darker side, giving the impression that it will listen to none save its friends.

Evangelicalism has now gotten past the stage when it needs to be defensive about everything. Its survival seems assured; its next task is to get itself into shape for expansion and consolidation.

My belief is that evangelicalism will gain the intellectual and spiritual high ground within Western Christianity during the next generation - but it will do so only after a thorough shakeout, in which some of its less desirable and theologically dubious aspects have been purged and the necessary attention paid to its emerging weaknesses. Evangelicalism needs to shed its ghetto mentality and become more involved with the real world as it prepares to expand still further.

The threats to evangelicalism are real - but so are its opportunities and its resources. The challenge is this: can evangelicalism cope with sustained growth, increasing intellectual sophistication, and growing acceptance within the churches? Or will it lose sight of its distinctive ideas and emphases? If we can appreciate the genuine attraction and distinctiveness of our beliefs, we can go some way toward ensuring the future well-being of the movement in particular, and of the Christian faith in general.

________

Alister McGrath is research professor of theology at Oxford University and Regent College, Vancouver, Canada, and principal of Wycliffe Hall. He is the author most recently of Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity (IVP), from which this article was adapted.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazine ctjun95mrw5T7018566b

A Three Part Sermon On Rocks, by J. W. McNeill

ROCK OF REFUGE (Psalm 31:1-8)

The lessons for this morning have to do with rocks, but from different perspectives and in different situations. Psalm 31 imagines God as a rock. What are the qualities of a rock? Hard, strong, durable, solid, steady, fixed, offers protection. I was looking at the stone wall to which the cross is affixed. The banners in the sanctuary were taken down this week to protect them from the construction dust, so as I walked by my eyes went straight to the front of the sanctuary to the stonework. That stone represents surety and fixity.

In a world of change we want to know that there is stability and security. In a world of danger we want to know that there is protection. In a world in which we sometimes know ourselves to be weak, we want to know that God is strong. Jesus told a parable of 2 builders. One built a house on the sand and it was washed away. The other built a house on the rock, and it stood firm. With God as our foundation we partake of that stability and strength and we receive that protection.

In an uncertain and scary world, it is comforting to know that God is our refuge.

STICKS AND STONES (Acts 7:55-60)

And what do these stones flying through the air mean? These stones have meaning in the context of Stephen's speech about the temple and its stones. Stephen was something of a radical even for 1st Century Christians. Not only did he preach that Jesus was the promised Messiah, God's annointed one, he also preached that the temple -- the center of worship, the very house of God, the most holy place, what was for them the rock of refuge, the fortress of proteciton -- was NOT the dwelling place of God.

Those religious Jerusalemites felt their security in God under attack. Indeed it was in the name of God that they stoned Stephen as they had crucified Jesus before him. They could not grasp that God was doing a new thing. God was not simply an unchanging rock. God is also dynamic. God is not just like the stone wall behind the cross. God is also like the banners that come and go with the seasons. They rebelled against God with their stones.

We too can be tempted to rebel when the security of God seems to break down and we are called to a new path, a new direction, or a new way. When God calls us to be brave, to love in a new way, to forgive, or to seek reconciliation with an enemy. The rock we were standing on can become the rock that we throw.

LIVING STONES (1 Peter 2:2-10)

Here Peter is not talking about throwing stones or hiding behind stones. He is talking about being stones. Peter is talking about what is happening to us as we are being called and formed as God's people who are built on the cornerstone and foundation of Jesus Christ. We are called to be living stones, placed one on top of the other and beside each other as the community of faith, built into a spiritual house.

Here Peter hearkens back to thinking of the Temple and its priesthood which served there. What are priests? Priests are intermediaries between heaven and earth. They help people get in touch with God. The offer sacrifices, which means to make things holy. And so as priests we are called to make and find the holy in all situations.

Did you notice the strange image that Peter uses. He says we are to be "living stones". What is more dead than a stone? But in this we are called to solve the riddle of how we can be representatives of One who is solid, durable, and reliable on the one hand, and living, vital, and adaptible on the other. May we more and more continue to grow into those living stones, becoming a spiritual house that joins heaven and earth.

A well-liked church member was fatally shot Sept. 29, 1999, while helping with a Wednesday evening fellowship meal at First Southern Baptist Church, Fresno, California.

Another church member was taken into custody several hours later in connection with the killing.

Virgil Turner, 44, died of multiple gunshot wounds. Witnesses said Turner was helping in the church kitchen when the shooting occurred. Fresno police identified the accused killer as Steven James Knee, 29, also a member of First Southern Baptist Church. Knee was arrested several hours after the shooting when police stopped his car for allegedly running a stop sign.

A motive for the shooting was not immediately established, although one witness said Turner, who was unarmed, was killed during an argument started by the accused gunman. A church member said Turner and Knee had been in conflict for some time, but did not specify the nature of their dispute.

An undetermined number of church members on hand for the weekly fellowship meal heard gunfire erupt just after 5:30 p.m. "Bang, bang, bang -- six of them right in a row," church member Orval Reed told The Fresno Bee. One witness told a Fresno television station, "It sounded like a loud cap gun."

Holly Smith, a member of the church, said Knee then "walked calmly out of the building, dropped the gun in the grass, got in his car and drove away."

Asked if revival services scheduled to begin Sunday at the Fresno church would proceed as planned, Rev. Kuffel said, "Absolutely. We need it more now than ever."

Platypus is probably the strangest animal God ever created! Description: Flat, rubbery bill, no teeth, webbed feet--like a duck!; Furry body, beaver-like tail, nurses its young--like a mammal!; Lays leathery eggs--like a reptile!; Male has venomous spurs on hind legs which he can use to strike like a snake!; Female has pouch for her young--like a kangaroo!; No nipples on mammary glands--baby platypuses lap milk that oozes onto their mother's fur! First platypuses shipped to England in 1800 were believed to be frauds. (Just after mermaid hoax--monkey heads stitched to fish bodies from China Sea.) Although unconventional, platypuses function quite well.

The church is kind of like a platypus. Combination of seemingly incompatible features--yet it functions quite well. Focus on tension between organization & organism. (From a Philip Yancey, CHRISTIANITY TODAY article.)

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a hospital.

One looks around in vain to find anyone who is intact and perfect. Everyone here is damaged. Not a single one is unimpaired or without blemish. The wounds are fresh and visible on some. There are old but ugly scars on others.

Hospitals are not for healthy people, though, but for sick ones. And the church is not for flawless people but for sinners.

Everyone here has the disease. All have been infected with sin in one form or another. Some embraced it. Others were overcome without meaning to be. Nobody had immunity, and nobody could cure himself.

The treatment method here is radical. There are no fees for therapy, but everyone would be happy to pay a premium instead of going through the painful process of cure. Some insist, in fact, on trying the self-help approach. They pretend to be healthy. They flex their muscles and do good deeds around the hospital. All the while, however, they become weaker and sicklier. Everyone sees their decline except them.

Treatment always begins with a painful procedure called repentance. Some have likened it to cutting off a hand or even to plucking out an eye. It is always the major hurdle for every patient, for attachments to evil things and wicked people are strong. Addictive. Enslaving.

Having come through the first stage of therapy, then comes the part that makes patients queasy. It involves blood-and a heart transplant. It is the point in treatment where the patient dies. That's right. The old person dies. His old heart is removed and replaced with a new one, and the blood of Jesus infuses new life into him. By the Spirit of God, he is then quickened and made alive.

All of us here are in various stages of recovery. The frightful possibility that one of us could suffer a relapse or reject the new heart is always present. So there are no wards for the “totally cured” and no place for anyone to taunt others who are still at the early, critical stage. We are all still sinners, and we can only be sympathetic with someone whose plight at the moment is worse than our own.

There is great camaraderie here. We are all in this together, so we love and support one another. Yet this is not a gloomy place. The atmosphere is charged with hope, for every patient is in the hands of The Great Physician. And no one remaining under his care has ever been lost.

Rubel Shelly in LoveLines 15 (Aug. 2, 1989)

Love - the visitors in church may not be able to explain it or define it, but they know when it is there and when it is not. A man will get up, dress, pass fifty other churches, and drive all the way across town if he knows that a warm experience awaits him with love and true fellowship in the house of God. For many, the love they receive in church is the only love they will experience all week long. - John Bisagno

They are cold killers. They show no mercy and they're virtually unstoppable. Most of them go undetected but they claim 200 victims every year, all around the world. It's no wonder they're called The White Death.

Experts say there are a million avalanches worldwide every twelve months. Get caught in one and you can expect to survive for only three hours. Even that seems miraculous considering the average slide unleashes 1,500 tons of snow travelling 150 miles an hour. Not only does an avalanche leave an astonishing path of destruction, it freezes and sets like concrete soon after it stops, forming an icy tomb for anything or anyone trapped below.

An avalanche happens when a strong layer of snow glides over a weak one. Incredibly, the precise shape of every single snowflake influences which layer will develop. When conditions are right, a slide can be triggered by the weight of fresh snow, the movement of a single skier or a small amount of snow falling from higher up the mountain. The gradual weakening of the older, underlying snow will also set one off. But until the final moment, the surface rarely betrays the coming danger.

So to protect themselves, those who live in the mountains sometimes detonate an unstable mass with grenade-like explosives, or special missiles fired at the snow with a modified bazooka. At least that way, the slide can be predicted and prepared for. Some mountain communities also build “wedges”, inverted V-shaped cement barricades that split an avalanche, protecting what's behind the walls.

Seems to me that, in many ways, we in the church are like the mountain snows. We rest on the immovable Rock, but our situation is always changing. At any given time, the cross-sections of our congregations will reveal the weak and the strong and it's sobering to realize that the spiritual shape each of us is in determines which profile will dominate.

It's absolutely imperative that every Christian find an environment, not of fragility and volatility but stability; a solid base on which everyone can melt together into a balanced blanket of unity. But if those closest to the Rock become sufficiently weakened by sin or apathy, a congregation's vitality will give out and give way. The same thing will happen if new Christians make no effort to bond with those who arrived before them. Oh, the situation may look fine on the surface, but the slightest pressure will eventually be enough to trigger an avalanche of anger, pride and envy. Once things begin to slide out of control, both the guilty and the innocent will suffocate in sin's cold sarcophagus.

At the first sign of danger, we must find the courage to isolate and separate the threat of disharmony using the weapons of prayer and love. The risk is high but we know we can face any onslaught from behind the protection afforded by the Victory and inVincibility of Jesus. Even the withering White Death of the soul is no match for the awesome warmth of the Son.

________________

Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, Brantford, ON October 11, 1998

If this is not a place where tears are understood, WHERE DO I GO TO CRY? ....

If this is not a place where my spirit can take wing, WHERE DO I GO TO FLY? ...

If this is not a place where my questions can be asked, WHERE DO I GO TO SEEK? ....

If this is not a place where my feelings can be heard, WHERE DO I GO TO SPEAK?

There was a truck driver in Los Angeles who would sit in his backyard every Saturday and would drink a sixpack and he got this great idea. He wanted to see his neighbors from above so he got 45 weather balloons. His friends helped him set it up and when he said go - they let him go. Instead of going up 100 feet as he thought - he went up 11,000 feet and his house was near Los Angles airport. He had taken a bebe gun along so he could shoot the balloons if he went too high but he was too busy holding on to the lawn chair to do this. A pilot of a DC 10 saw him and radioed in and was told to come to the tower when he landed. Well, they got helicopters out there and it took four hours to get him down. When they got him down a camera crew came over and he was looking quite shaken up and they asked him three questions - Were you scared? - Yes Will you do it again? - No Why did you do it? - You just can't sit there!! It's the same way with the church - we just can't sit there when our society is crumbling around us

Colonel T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. "Lawrence of Arabia") told of two Arab chiefs who came to London and were entertained lavishly in a luxurious hotel. He asked them if they would like to take something back as a reminder of his country and they spoke up: "We have decided we would like to have two of those hot water faucets to take home with us. It would be a great thing in Arabia to be able to turn them on and to have hot water anytime." But when Colonel Lawrence explained that behind the faucets on the wall there had to be an intricate pattern of plumbing, wells, and pumping systems if the faucets were to work, the chiefs decided that hot water faucets were not what they wanted after all.

"The fact is that there are no successful churches! Big ones, small ones, organized ones, unorganized ones! There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called "Minister" and given a designated responsibility ... to keep the community attentive to God. " -- Eugene H. Peterson

In June 1983 Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf took command of Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Day after arriving S. went out for a AM run. Approached barracks near end of run; formation of troops raced by, led by a guy who looked like he belonged on the U.S. Olympic team. Turned around & saw those unable to keep up the pace. Leaders stopped at barracks, saluted. S. asked Co. commander what they were doing. CC: "Sir, we've just completed our 5-mile run." S.: "That's terrific, but what about all those people back there?" CC: "Sir, those are the guys who couldn't keep up." S.: "But you've run off and left them." CC gave puzzled look. S.: "Think of it this way ... suppose you're a new recruit, come to new unit after basic t., feeling good about being a soldier. Then you find out your unit does more running than you're used to. First day you're out with them, you reach your limit, but your unit keeps going and leaves you. WHAT KIND KIND OF UNIT COHESION DOES THAT BUILD?"

(It Doesn't Take A Hero, pp. 240-241).

Coroners in Fredericksburg, Virginia, ruled Phillip Lewis died of a drug overdose.

They reached that conclusion because of drugs and other evidence found near the body when the victim was discovered in his home, lying in a pool of blood. When the Medical Examiner looked at the corpse, he agreed with the assessment and decided an autopsy wouldn't be necessary.

Everything seemed pretty routine until a tip from a prison inmate prompted investigators to exhume the remains and do a post-mortem. Only then did authorities discover the true cause of death -- and charge a man with murder. Phillip Lewis had been shot in the head and chest with a 22-calibre pistol. Not even the mortician had noticed the four bullet wounds.

Though we shake our head in disbelief at such a glaring oversight, we're often just as oblivious to the obvious. But in our case, we neglect to properly examine the Body -- the Body of Christ, His church -- while it's still very much alive.

We don't seem to notice when it starts to grow cold. (“You don't love me -- or each other -- as you did at first. Look how far you've fallen from your first love! Turn back to me and work as you did at first.” Rev. 2:4,5).

When the virus of sin invades, we treat it as a harmless distraction, instead of an agent of destruction. (“You tolerate some among you who... worship substitutes for God by... committing sexual sin.” Rev. 2:14).

Even when our immunity weakens drastically and the gangrene of cheap grace begins to eat away at our spiritual vigour, the danger goes unseen and unchecked. (“Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what's left is at the point of death. Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again.” Rev. 2:2,3).

With our vision failing after long exposure to the dazzle and razzle of the world, we're pitifully unaware of our sickly condition. The vision goes first, then the vitality. (“You say... 'I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!’ You don't realize you're wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.” Rev. 3:17). It's the spiritual AIDS of apathy.

Thankfully, the Doctor still makes house calls to the threshold of the human heart. (“Look! I'm standing at the door and knocking. If you hear me calling and open up, I'll come in, and we'll share a meal as friends... Anyone who's willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what He's saying to the churches.” Rev. 3:20,22). Hear. Listen. Live.

When we fail to see the symptoms of sin -- or even the true cause of spiritual death -- nothing will escape the great Examiner. He'll put every part of the Body under the microscope and detect our real condition, dead or alive. (“And all the churches will know that I am the One who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give each of you whatever you deserve.” Rev. 2:23).

Well, almost. Though none of us is completely faithful, He'll also give each of us what we don't deserve: unlimited love and a home everlasting -- as long as we don't overlook the Obvious.

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Publish at will.

"Can I be a Christian without joining the church?"

Answer: Yes, it is as possible as being:

A student who will not go to school.

A soldier who will not join an army.

A citizen who does not pay taxes or vote.

A salesman with no customers.

An explorer with no base camp.

A seaman on a ship without a crew.

A business man on a deserted island.

An author without readers.

A tuba player without an orchestra.

A parent without a family.

A football player without a team.

A politician who is a hermit.

A scientist who does not share his findings.

A bee without a hive.

- Robert G. Lee, SERMONIC LIBRARY, pp. 115-16.

Suppose that in time of

war a man says, "I wish to serve my country and to

defend her from her enemies." If he tries to carry out that

resolution alone,

he can accomplish nothing. He can be effective in that purpose only

by

standing shoulder to shoulder with others of like mind. It is so with

the

church. ROOTED TOGETHER The huge redwood trees of California amaze

mankind.

They are the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in

the

world. Some of them are 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old. One

would

think that trees so large must have a tremendous root system that

reaches down

hundreds of feet into the earth. But not so! The redwoods have a very

shallow

root system. The redwoods root system all intertwine. They are

locked to

each other. When the storms come, the winds blow, and the lightning

flashes,

the redwoods still stand. They are locked to each other. They are

not alone

for all the trees support and protect each other. Each tree is

important to

all the other trees in the grove. In the Church, souls fellowship with

one

another and with Christ. Without Christ, the church is nothing.

Without

fellowship, the church is useless. By our love, we must show the

world the

difference Jesus makes! ". . . being rooted and established in love,

may have

power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and

high and

deep is the love of Christ. . . " \reference{Ephesians

3:17-19}{Ephesians 3:17-19}

Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their

churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I

took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but

did nothing to the bats." "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles

before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven't had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?"

asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized and confirmed them," he

replied. "I haven't seen them since." Reader's Digest, July, 1994, p.

64