Giving Church Another Chance by Hunter Todd D.;McKnight Scot;

Author:Hunter, Todd D.;McKnight, Scot; [Hunter, Todd D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2010-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

Hearing Sermons Within a Free and Light Life

Okay, if a free and light life of following Jesus is available, how do we interact with sermons to move in that direction? I’ve been on both sides of mediocre sermons, a giver and a taker! Let’s see if we can set aside normal worries and experiences with sermons—great, good or average—and focus instead on how we can repractice them as hearing God for the sake of entering the life Jesus calls us to.

To begin repracticing hearing sermons so they translate into a free and light life, we might want to start with the epistle of James. James says we betray something significant and make a big mistake when we “let the word go in one ear and out the other.” He urges his readers to “act on what you hear.” He said if we do we will “find delight and affirmation in the action” (James 1:22-25).

Many of us do not experience James to be right. Our experience tell us that practicing Christianity is hard. Let’s look at two versions of Ephesians 5:3-4 as an example:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (ESV)

Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

I wonder if we don’t hear a text like this and think, Well I don’t run a porn shop; I don’t cuss people out or tell jokes that tear people down. We when respond in this manner, we miss the point. We miss the opportunity to participate in Jesus’ easy yoke. Paul is discussing that which is normal in God’s new society. He’s describing what naturally happens to those who share the yoke of Jesus. These are not rules you have to obey to keep yourself from burning in hell. Thinking of Paul’s metaphor in Colossians 3:12, these are the new clothes we put on as we begin to follow Jesus.

As an illustration, let’s talk about cussing. I’ve been asked in the past to take part in a debate about whether it’s okay for Christians to use certain swear words. I found the whole thing very odd. I kept wondering why anyone would want to cuss. Some said that sometimes a swear word is perfect for the context. Others thought it was prudish to expect Christians to not occasionally drop the F-bomb or curse someone. This approach seriously misses the point for those who are trying to make their way while yoked to Jesus.

While words are undoubtedly important and powerful, I don’t think Paul has mere words in mind. He is thinking of something more like the nature of things for those who are yoked with Jesus.

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