Sermon Tone Analysis

Spiritual Disciplines

Hey all, excited to to be involved tonight, love this this environment and the vision of Jon and his leaders here.

To hone in on community, to see the church as more than the box we meet in on Sunday, but as the ecclesia, the living breathing extension of Christ to each other and to the community.

Part of that vision is to take some time to learn and grow in faith and practice and I think in some real ways prepare our harts and minds for the worship that is going to take place in a little while upstairs.

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Tonight I want to talk briefly on the importance of learning.

It is clear throughout scripture that learning, is an important aspect of what is means to pursue and follow God.

There is an implication that he is not simply talking about memorizing them, but unpacking what it means to follow God and obey his decrees.

In the psalmist says this..

The entire psalm goes on and on about loving God’s laws, and wanting to learn more an more about them.

There is an implication that he is not simply talking about memorizing them, but unpacking what it means to follow God and obey his decrees.

He wants learn not only the words but the depth of its truth.

There is something that he wants to take place in his mind so that it can inform his heart.

When Jesus was speaking to the scribes and lawmakers in he is asks about the most important command and he says...

Mark 12:

The implication seems to be that we do not simply evolve deep affection for God but that it is a result, that it is in strong connection with how we engage our mind.

The very fact that we associate ourselves with Jesus, our gospel life has its foundations in learning.

We are not made children of the living God by osmosis!

We are not made right with God without learning at least the basics of the gospel that put us face to face with the facts that we need grace and forgiveness.

There must be a hearing, a learning, a convincing!

As Paul says, how can they believe if they haven’t heard.

We worship a God Who revealed himself, for the purpose that we may hear, may be convinced, and may respond.

BUT, BUT....is that it!?!

Just tell us what we need for eternal life and pop a lid on it!

And Jesus we will see you when you get back!

Many seem to be happy to accept that a I’m forgiven, and accepted gospel and leave it at that.

And “Hey Jesus, thanks for the gift, let’s hang out when you get back!”

And that type of Christianity is, I would say a shallow form that lacks any real depth, and often means that when faith is found difficult it is disowned.

Why?

An incomplete version of the Gospel that says we are good on limited information.

Just tell us what we need for eternal life and pop a lid on it!

It is an understanding on Christianity that we have inherited, from a say a prayer, get your passport stamped.

That is a form of the Christian faith that will lack real vitality.

As R.C. Sproul once wrote, “Burning hearts are not nourished by empty heads.”

God’s truth — which must be learned — is the fuel for the spiritual fire that lights in the Christian heart.

One of the serious issues of being a learning disciple today is that we live in one of the fastest shifting cultures technologically ideologically, but we do so in an environment that produces stupidity.

there is so much distraction and encouragement to not dig deeper, amd to stay distracted.

Binge watching series on netflix, (#guilty, So much so that the TV asks us…are you still watching!!!??

We get our information from world events from Facebook, memes, two sentence headlines, soundbites.

How do we compete with that?

all the nformatiom, shifting idea....By making learning a part of the rhythm of our Christian discipleship.

Because when learning is a part of our discipleship…if gives us legs to carry our faith, tools to unpack it, and clarity in its expression.

WE ARE IN DANGER OF BECOMING STUPID

We are not made right with God without learning at least the basics of the gospel that puts us face to face with the facts that we need grace and forgiveness.

There must be a hearing, a learning, a convincing!

As Paul says, how can they believe if they haven’t heard.

But

We worship a Who revealed himself, for the purpose that we may hear, may be convinced, and may respond.

BUT, BUT....is that it!?!

Many seem to think it is!!

Many seem to be happy to accept that a I’m forgiven, and accepted gospel and leave it at that.

And “Hey Jesus, thanks for the gift, let’s hang out when you get back!”

And that type of Christianity is, I would say a shallow form that lacks any real depth, and often means that when faith is found difficult it is disowned.

Why?

An incomplete version of the Gospel that says we are good on limited information.

Just tell us what we need for eternal life and pop a lid on it!

It is an understanding on Christianity that we have inherited, from a say a prayer, get your passport stamped.

I. LEGS to Carry our faith

ill.

weight lifter

Cam- I had a buddy i grew up with, he was an all or nothing guys..when we were kids he was Han Solo, and his entire basemen was laid out like the Millenium Falcon.

High School, heavy Metal drummer, long permed hair band look, ripped shirts and wrist bands, after we graduated from High School, he became a body builder...., huge muscles, totally intimidating....but I’ll tell you what.

He couldn’t run, he had no endurance.

And he was ....top heavy.

You could push him over by leaning into him.

Why he head all the weight up hear and didn’t have the ability to carry it with his tiny tooth pic legs.

no endurance and no balance

couldn’t run, couldn’t balance

The gospel is a massive claim to invest our lives into

To say we believe in things like the atonement for our sins, the incarnation, that the God who created everything took on human flesh, walked among us and lived a perfect life, died, rose again from the dead..(that this took place at an actual time, that it took place at an actually geographical location) not sure if you realize this, but these are nit your everyday claims!!

It is robust and needs to stand on some strong legs.

It is only a continued exploring of our faith that will sustain any real faith!

Leaning gives our faith legs to stand on.

It also gives......

II.

Tools to Unpack our faith

The Apostle Peter writes...

Learning about our faith gives the the legs to better carry the weight of the gospel in our lives and to be prepared .....

How do we know our faith is a good faith?

How do we know how to answer the questions of the day....if we are not learners?

A Christian who isn’t learning, isn’t digging deeper is like a person carrying a load on their shoulders they have been told to carry, but have not unpacked it to see why!!

Ill.

Airport----one time I dropped the missions team off at SEATAC, and I was still leading worship up here at the Mariner, and had to make it back in time for afternoon rehearsal.

I had dropped them with a trailer hitched to the back of the van.

And as I was heading back into Canada, they asked me what I had in the back, and it was at that point I realized, I had never once looked inside the trailer.

They said…what is in the back and I said......

I don’t think there is anything in the back…I don’t really know!!

When we devote ourselves to learning as a continual process of unpacking the gospel that we have been welcomed into we are equipping ourselves for those kinds of questions!!

What is this Christianity?

How does this faith of yours play out in a ever shifting culture.

Why do we hold to thing so strongly EVEN THOUGH OUR CULTURE IS TELLING US TO GIVE THEM UP AND FALL IN LINE?

How do I respond to difficulty and suffering in my life, if I haven’t learned to unpack my faith.

We never graduate!!

Learning gives the tools we need to unpack our faith

and it also....

And unpacking sch

III.

Clarity in our expression of our faith

II.

Inform our worship

If we are called to worship in Spirit and in truth what does that look like.