Pulpit Hobo Stew
November 14, 2008
When I was growing up, my dad found a way to clean out the refrigerator in one fell swoop: hobo stew. At least, that’s what he called it. If any leftovers lingered in the chilled box because the serving wasn’t big enough to eat at the next meal, he solved the pileup by tossing them all together. Beets, green beans, minute steak, cherry pie, brussels sprouts, fried eggplant, and everything else in danger of going bad got tossed into the hobo stew. The rest of us thought it was disgusting–especially when he topped it with A1 sauce–but he didn’t waste anything.
November’s preaching sequence may feel like a hobo stew of sorts. There are a number of issues that need to be taken care of yet are not big enough at this point for more than one sermon, so I’ve tossed them all into one month. Because it has the potential to feel random, I want to share the motivation behind the next two weeks.
On Sunday we will be covering the topic of sanctification, or holiness in the Christian life. The motivation behind this is something in our statement of faith-the only thing, I should clarify-that makes me uncomfortable. Part 7 of the statement includes the sentence, “Salvation will result in the total abandonment of the old life and living a totally new life as a new creation, as a child of God loving and now meeting the righteous demands of our God by His very strength and life working through us and in us.”
If we were to take a poll on Sunday morning and ask, “How many of you have totally abandoned your old life and are living a totally new life as a new creation?” my guess is that few hands would be raised. Then, of course, we could ask for supporting testimonies for those few and watch all the hands fall. But more important than our experience is the Bible’s teaching. Does the Bible really speak in such absolute terms? Would Paul use the word “totally” to describe the believer’s experience of the new creation? We want to explore this in the Word in view of an adjustment of that language that would be voted on at February’s annual meeting.
The following week I want to scrape the tip of an iceberg that has remained untouched in our pulpit: homosexuality. Our cultural landscape has shifted dramatically in the last 5 to 10 years as homosexuality has become a central, consistent topic of discussion in the mainstream media and item for voting in the political realm. While the church must stand firmly on the biblical definition of marriage and the categorical sinfulness of homosexuality, we must do more. We must seek to understand the people in this lifestyle, have Christ-like compassion on them, and ask what it looks like for us to be a church that offers the gospel to all sinners without distinction and that promotes biblical, healthy sexuality within the church.
So pull out the A1 sauce, and let us prepare to hear what God has to say about these issues as we seek to fulfill our mission as Christ’s people in this passing age.
Pastor Chris