Are we lost?

Perhaps you to have memories of traveling in the loaded down family station wagon to unique points of interest. Nearly all of the memories I choose to keep are good ones. I was thinking this week of the number of times I heard Dad say, "We aren't lost. We're just taking a more scenic route!"

That comment was often followed by comments like:

"Haven't we already passed this place?"
"This doesn't look like (fill in the blank)"
"Daddy, are we lost?"

I think that scene played out in more than a dozen states during my youth. It made me think about this week and the beginning of the Lent season. Every year it seems Lent sneaks up on us. With snow on the ground it can't be Lent! Spring and Easter seem so far off on the calendar. Are you sure it's time for Lent?

And yet it is time to do this Lent thing all over again. Lent is time to remind us that although we know where we are going, we aren't there yet. It serves as a time to remind us that we are lost. It is a time to expereience "deja vu" all over again, as we travel this seemingly familiar path.

So, hear again the words of John the Baptist, "Prepare the way of the Lord and make straight the paths!" (Mark 1:3b NIV)

Perhaps your path has become overgrown with the weeds of life. Perhaps this familiar path seems strangely different this year. Perhaps life has cluttered this once familiar path. I invite you to use this season of Lent to discover again the path that leads to Easter and an empty tomb.

We are lost, but the path to being found lies just ahead.

So, Prepare the way . . . .

First Impressions

We all struggle with first impressions. We often struggle with questions like: “What should I wear?” or “How will I look?” or “What will they think?” or “What should I say?” How many times have you gotten dressed to go somewhere and changed your mind? How often have you rehearsed the words you would say? Maybe it was for the first day of school or a first date or a meeting with someone for the first time or perhaps it was the first day on a new job or an interview for a job you really want. Or maybe it was your first blog post?

I would like to share with you some of my struggles in getting here this morning. After all, won’t this sermon set an expectation for all those that follow? Won’t this be an ultimate FIRST IMPRESSION! Talk about pressure! So what should I write? Perhaps the Bible could offer some insight?

The problem of first impressions is not new. So we are going to look at a passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Chapter 3 verses 12-17:

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The apostle Paul wrote this letter to a group of people he had never met, but had a great deal of love for. The Colossian church had started as a result of Paul’s Ministry. The church itself was started by Epaphras and other converts from Paul’s previous missionary travels. Paul was now in prison in Rome and was getting reports of some problems that were occurring within the church. He wrote this letter to set them back on the right path and to set some guidelines for them because the church was struggling. The blending of secular philosophy (like Greek mythology and Judaism) was beginning to infiltrate the early church. Christ was no longer the central concept of their faith or their actions. It was Christ plus this or this plus Christ. They were struggling with the style of worship, the place of worship (the Jewish temple was nicer, the Greeks has beautiful statues), how they should dress, how they should act. Paul wrote to redirect their thought to Deity of Christ and the central nature that Christ should have in their faith. Paul needed them to understand that Christ had paid for their sin and that Christ had reconciled them to God. It was Christ alone that could do this. Paul also wanted to give them some helpful tips on what do and what not to do in living their lives with Christ as their central focus. He needed to guide them in their first steps of building a community of faith.

The church of then and now are not that different today. We struggle with watered down messages in order to avoid offending anyone. We add to our faith lists of Dos and Don’ts that somehow will make us more or less Christian. Or by comparison make our faith better than another’s faith. Does putting a fish on your car make it okay to speed or cut someone off? We create a salvation story that says Christ plus this or Christ plus that is the way to heaven. Or we buy into the world’s view that there are many ways to Heaven and that Christ is but one of them. We deny the very words of Christ. “I am THE way” and “there is no other way to the Father, but through Me.” We blend ideas from every type of thought and hope to create something that will appeal to everyone.

We continue to bring the world into the church and allow the church and our faith to be changed by the world and we have it all backwards. Our faith should be changing the world and our community that we live in! That is a large task and will require some first steps. These steps will ensure that our focus as a church and a community of believers is Christ and Christ alone. Paul gives us some simple “fashion rules” to apply to our lives, as we venture into the world. He gives us a “wardrobe” to wear so that we might make the right first impression on the world.

Put on Compassion. The compassion you receive from God should be reflected in the compassion you give.
Put on Kindness. Your spirit should be sweet, tender, and filled with acts of open kindness.
Put on Humility. Be humble in your actions and thoughts. Counting yourself as not first or the highest.
Put on Gentleness. Be slow to anger and quick to find understanding.
Put on Patience. Ouch this is a tough one. How long can you wait. As God has been long suffering with this world and us, we should show the same patience and restraint with others.

The Children’s Living Bible translates this passage uniquely. Put into the words of a child so that a child will understand:

12Since you have been chosen by God who has given you this new kind of life, and because of his deep love and concern for you, you should practice tenderhearted mercy and kindness to others. Don’t worry about making a good impression on them but be ready to suffer quietly and patiently

I hope my first thoughts have left an impression on you. Let me know your thoughts.

When people see you this week, What impression will you make?