Last night my wife went to her Literary Theory class (for her Masters of English). She asked a question in class and made a statement that interested two other students. They approached her after class and asked about her comment. Their conversation basically followed this line of thinking, if we continue to deconstruct everything (as modern English majors are supposed to do) including even relativism itself then what do we have left? Is there something constructive that we can build our intellect on? They asked her, "if you're not a deconstructionist, a postmodern or a Marxist, then what are you?"

 "A Christian,"  she replied.

And in simply engaging her fellow students in discussion and being honest about her faith, she essentially shared the gospel.

"Preach the gospel; if necessary use words."

This quote is used prolificly by Christians. I loved this quote for a long time. We have no idea who said it but we like to attribute it to St. Francis. It reminds us of the important truth that our actions speak volumes about what we believe and value. Most importantly this quote is popular because we have known too many Christians who are all too ready shove the gospel down someone's throat but forget to live out the gospel through acts of love and service. At least we think we do. But stop and think about it. Name one person (other than televangelist celebrity types) you personally know who preaches the gospel only through words. Jesus called such people hypocrites. So do we. I cannot think of even 4 or 5 people I know who have abused the gospel in this way. Now try to think of someone who is not afraid to use words to talk about Jesus and who also demonstrates their faith by trying to live like Jesus. I can think of dozens.

There is a curious belief among us as Christians. We believe that only certain people are called to evangelize. And many of us don't want to. We come up with many serious reasons: I am not wise enough; I am not extroverted; I don't know how. In the Bible we find uneducated nobodies preaching the gospel in remarkable ways, so wisdom and even deep knowledge of scripture is not a prerequisite (though it is something that all Christians should be studying). Sometimes introverts are more effective at having deep one-on-one conversations because of their sensitivity and insight - so no excuse there. And just because the only examples we have are preachers on TV and angry men on street corners does not mean that there are not billions of other ways to communicate the good news of Jesus - billions because it could be unique to every individual.

If we believe that Jesus Christ is good news, then we should commit ourselves to sharing that news. Just listen to the quote itself. It commands us to "Preach the Gospel." But too often we use quotes like this as an excuse to never preach the gospel because we are scared, ashamed, and uncertain. I should know - that's why I loved this quote for so long. "What a relief" I thought, "that I won't ever have to have the awkwardness of verbalizing my faith to another person. I can just be pretty nice and call it a day."  But as we mature in our faith we must recognize the power of words. Which is the more clear communication of the gospel? To do something in love and never explain why?  Or to combine words and actions in a life of integrity. It is confusing and sometimes meaningless for someone to receive love randomly. How much more powerful to hear that the kindness has been done because there is a God and he is love and he showed his love in Jesus Christ. And our perception that we will come off as brash and insensitive is nonesense as the example at the beginning demonstrates.

The Bible mentions 'evangelists' as a subgroup of Christians in only one place - Ephesians 4:11. Jesus seems to assume evangelism as a calling for every Christian. And evangelism almost always requires words. The only other callings given in that verse are teachers, prophets, pastors and apostles. Maybe you are not an 'evangelist.' But if you are a Christian then I ask, which of these other options are you? And how will you fulfill that calling without using words?

In other words, "Preach the Gospel; in doing this you will certainly perform loving acts. You will also find it necessary to use words."

'Mammon' is the Aramaic word that Jesus uses when he states the impossibility of serving God and Money. I spoke about this passage on August 8th here at The Presby. Several people have expressed that these words of Jesus profoundly challenge them. But they also believe that the freedom from money (and therefore from worry, too) that Jesus promises also inspires them. One of the suggestions I made to get started was to 'downgrade' your stuff - whether it be a house, car, furniture, TV, or computer. By this I do not mean to say, "buy shoddy, ugly things that will break quickly." I believe that beauty and craftmanship can be deeply honoring to God. However, in our consumer-driven society we are often blind to the ways we allow status, convenience and accessories (meaning non-essentials) to dictate our purchasing decisions. But what if we allowed alternative opportunites to drive our big purchasing decisions? What about all the great things we could do with that money instead? This is not just the negative message of "fear money" but the positive message of we are not to serve money, but money can be used in service to God. We can do exciting things with our money!  I took a lot of joy in looking up this example for us to chew on.

Let's say I need a new car (first of all I should examine what I mean by 'need'). I decide I want a practical, reliable and popular automobile so I choose a Honda Civic.  But let's say I am a salesman's dream and cannot resist all the added features and extra horsepower. According to Honda's website I could theoretically spend up to $29,475 on that Civic. Yet I could get a 2010 Honda Civic sedan with A/C, stereo, all major safety features and automatic transmission for $19,155. I would only be missing out on the engine with 3-rocker i-VTEC variable valve timing (less gas efficient), Satellite-Linked Navigation System with Voice Recognition, One-Touch Power Moonroof with Tilt Feature and other such long-named amenities. Next time you find yourself faced with a situation like this (whether big or small) take a moment to consider this:

With that $10,000 you could have:

- Sponsored 2 children through their entire 12 years of schooling through World Vision

- Built half a school for children in the 3rd world or purchased 3 nice fishing boats (and all the gear) for 3rd world fishermen to support their families or given 28 livestock animals to help subsistence farmers through Samaritan's Purse

- Planted 10,000 trees that counter deforestation, erosion and provide the foundations of livelihood through Plant with Purpose

- Offered the business capital with microfinance loans for about 20 entrepreneurs in impoverished conditions via Optinnow

- Made it possible for 45 children from inner city Detroit to spend an amazing week learning about Jesus at SpringHill Camps

- Kept our local Community Meal Center on Friday nights operating and feeding thousands for months.

- Given $50 a month for 16 years to International Justice Mission to fight sex trafficking around the world.

- Empowered 119 women in North Africa with vocational training classes through Partners International

- Helped Blood: Water Mission drill a life-saving well for a community across the globe.

Enter into the joy of giving.

On August 8th I talked about Matthew 6: 19-24. Jesus tells us that it is impossible to serve God and money. I began with a story about a family's faithful approach to money. I have met the father of the story, David Montague, but their story about finances had been passed on to me secondhand. I did not know until today that he has shared his story with an organization that posted it on YouTube.  To hear the story in all its detail from the man himself please follow this link. It is only 10 minutes long and I know you will be inspired.     David Montague's story.

"The church exists, as it always has, to save souls by elevating people’s values and desires."

I recently came across this quote in an article my friend posted on Facebook. Here is the link.  I agree with the overall sentiment of the article, but this quote disturbs me. Allow me to explain why.

This statement seems true at first glance. Certainly church should be a community where people are redirected from their normal self-absorbed paths to values and desires that are "elevated" and eternal. But our souls are not saved by having good morals. Our souls are not saved by having better values and desires. This would mean that what we are saved from is only a misguided notion of ethics. And what we are saved for is to be good people who can articulate higher ethics. That is it? If that is what the church exists for then we are probably wasting our time with it. When I look at my life, at my heart and my soul I do not see a man who needs a little polishing here and there. I need a new self. I was raised with strong morals and a lively sense of duty. So you could say that my values and desires are already elevated. In that case I don't need saving at all. I've already made it. How disappointing.

Why would I need God in this case? I could just go on my own way without any of the difficult, messy work of trying to know a mysterious God. I could skip discipleship. A lot of institutions, philosophies and religions exist to elevate people's morals. If the church is just another one of these, then its existence is superfluous. Then the church saves souls by a method which many others already know and a process in which God is not needed. Thus, a simple statement by this writer has inadvertently made the church obsolete (and possibly God, too).

Fortunately the God that the Bible talks about is not nearly that simple, dull or small. This is the heart of the matter. God loves us and passionately pursues his people. God is a God who chases after one small sheep to rescue it, who throws a grand party when the son who disowned him returns home and who would rather suffer torture on a cross than break his promise to be faithful to us. This is how souls are saved: by God. And by God alone. By God's love working through God's power. The church, thank God, does not exist to save souls. It exists as a witness to the fact that God saves souls. And saves them not from misguided morals for the purpose of being pretty good people. He saves them from death, isolation, sin, evil and injustice for the purpose of praising,  thanking, and living in joyful obedience to him, the God of wild mercy. We are saved for the purpose of his good pleasure, because God is faithful. That the church would save souls by resetting their moral compass is good. Praise God that the truth is better than good.

The next 2 Sundays (August 1 and 8) I will be teaching from Matthew 6. This coming week we will be talking about worry and anxiety. In preparing for this sermon I came across a reference to this Time magazine article. It was published almost a full 50 years ago (1961), but it has some incredible insights. Some of the material is dated, but some of it is truer now than when it was written. Either way it is a helpful way to start thinking about worry in your life and it will make you say, "they don't write articles like this any more."

www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872203,00.html