Two sermons you really should listen to . . .

John Piper on Spiritual Depression, which made me feel, well, joyful, [HT: Jared Wilson]

and

C. J. Mahaney on Deflating the Puffed-up Church.

Just awesome, awesome listening. You will be blessed by powerful, convicting and uplifting, Christ-focused preaching of great sensitivity and power.

Message Monday

Jared YouTubed Francis Chan on Friday. That got me interested in hearing more from this dynamic speaker. Here's something I found; it cuts to the quick like a two-edged sword:

On "changing the believer's orbit"

Craig Brian Larsen has a great article on Preaching that Promotes Self-Centeredness.

Our greatest challenge in training motives is to change the believer's orbit. Under the full control of their sinful nature, people are self-centered. They have the planetary mass of Jupiter, with God and other people orbiting around them like tiny moons. When people turn to Christ in faith, God begins the revolutionary process of transforming them to be other-centered and God-centered. They begin to see themselves in proper relation to the value of others and the greatness of God. Increasingly they orbit the massive, glorious sun of God's will.

BTW, I found this one through the always valuable Transforming Sermons.

Whither Christianity?

Have you seen this article, reporting the results of Christianity Today's recent survey of self-described Christians. I think it's pretty fascinating. The pollsters sort the results into 5 categories, or as they say "5 kinds of Christians." One of their conclusions:

...for a vast number of people who consider themselves Christian, Christ is not the central figure of their faith.

Isn't that so not surprising! After all, Jesus is not the "the central figure" of a "vast number" of the sermons we hear from our pastors.

More on Christianity as Crisis Management

My last three posts have been closely related. I've been chatting about holiness. And I suppose "discipleship" (though I haven't actually used the word). I said that we need to understand the relationship between sin and the many crises, conflicts, and trials that we face.

I guess I started down this trail after hearing yet one more sermon about how we need to cry out to God in our times of need and distress. Not that I don't agree, mind you. But it's another example of crisis management Christianity--Jesus as some sort of ascetic Santa Claus/Superman figure. We cry out, he comes to our rescue. Is that New Testament Christianity?

These types of sermons are very "successful." Many people will come forward for prayer at the end of the service, and many will tell the pastor how wonderful it was, and that we need to hear more like that. But nothing, nothing, nothing will ever change.

Am I just being snarky and hyper-critical, as usual. No, I think it's that I'm sensing a lack, a missing ingredient. All these crises and distresses that so many of us so often need rescue from . . . it's not simply that the devil is "pulling out all the stops," as some would say. Have you noticed that in some Christian circles at least (the ones I'm most familiar with) there is more talk about Satan than sin, more about fallen angels than flesh with its inevitable (and intimate) corruptions. And yet, clearly, the world is enmeshed in sin, hopelessly tangled in it, and we are tangled in it ourselves. In fact, sin is resident in us, and right at home it seems. We are going to have to get a least as honest as Pogo, who said:

We have met the enemy, and he is us!

So here are some possible alternative sermon topics: why do I do the things I don't want to do? Who can save me from this body of death? What does cross-carrying mean? What does following Jesus look like, and why is it so hard? What is grace, and why do I need it any longer if I'm already saved? If I'm a new creation, how come I keep doing the same things I always did? Why do I keep building my house on sand instead of rock? What has the cross of Christ got to do with any of this?

That's a start.

The "Purpose" of a Sermon

I heard a sermon recently about Joseph, the husband of Mary. The message, in a nutshell, was all about courage. Joseph was a man of courage and faith. We ought also to be people of courage. We ought also to have faith. You get the idea. Now, it's my funny little notion that sermons ought to be primarily about the business of revealing the heart of God. In other words, after we hear a good sermon, some aspect of the character of God and of His plan for me and for all creation is made more clear, more vivid to my imagination, better understood intellectually and, yes, more deeply-felt in my heart than before. In other words, a sermon should help us to "know God."

The primary purpose of a sermon, then, is not exhortation. It's not, "you should be brave," or "you should be loving," or "you should have faith," etc. These exhortative sermons leave me feeling rather ornery. Pastors, by all means preach about Joseph, yes indeed, but let your ultimate purpose be to show us God's heart, not Joseph's. And then, if you have preached the truth, you will have helped to make me, perhaps, a little more courageous, faithful, loving, etc.

BTW, for a similar point of view, see The Bible is a Book about God, from Theocentric Preaching.