On the occasion of my fifth Sunday as the Interim Pastor at Advent Lutheran Church in Arlington, Texas, we continued our exploration of the Jesus Priorities (a sermon series based on a book with the same title by Christopher Maricle). Today’s priority was “treasure in heaven.” Sermon My message, “How Much is Enough?” is based on Luke 12:13-21. Spreading the Word I preached from this manuscript, but didn't convey it word for word. You can watch a recording of the Read More …
consumerism
Sermon: How Much is Enough? (#1545)
Sermon Text: Luke 12:13-21 Sermon Excerpt Robert and Edward Skidelsky are two academics who happen to be father and son. Together they wrote a book that shares a title with this sermon: How Much is Enough (2012). The subtitle of the book is equally important: Money and the Good Life. So why do I bring this text to your attention? Because the Skidelsky's get it. They are on to something that sounds a lot like the wisdom of Jesus in this morning's parable. In a Read More …
Pastoring Isn’t Glamorous (#1205)
Eugene Peterson (b.1932) is a pastor's pastor. He is the author of the best-selling The Message, which is his translation of the Bible into contemporary American language. He is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who served as the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. Following his retirement from parish ministry, he served in academia until retiring from that role in 2006. Read More …
Overcoming Consumerism (#1132)
Much has been written about the need for churches to move beyond consumer based approaches to ministry and mission. Philip Nation, Director of Adult Ministry Publishing at LifeWay Christian Resources, recently suggested three different ways to name transition from a consumer approach to a missional one: From window shoppers to community, From gym membership to covenant, and From consumer-shaped bazaar to mission-shaped community. So What? Sometimes it is quite difficult Read More …
Endless Options (#0968)
Barry Cooper, director of product development at Christianity Explored Ministries and a part of the team planting Trinity West Church, wrote an article on the false God of endless options in the January/February 2013 edition of Christianity Today. In this piece he suggests that we have opportunities to choose from nearly endless options whether in life's larger choices like choosing a college major or in everyday decisions like ordering at Starbucks. As a result many people have Read More …
Consumerism as Idol (#0923)
Tony Campolo is an ordained American Baptist pastor, professor emeritus at Eastern University, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, author of 35 books, and popular speaker. Recently he wrote these challenging words: . . . the enemy of the Church is consumerism. We have made an idol out of the things that are being sold. We bow down and worship the commodities that are paraded before us on television. We are enslaved to a mindset Read More …
Consumerism and the Church (#0453)
Carl Trueman, professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, recently explored the impact of consumerism on our society and the church. In society, Trueman finds that consumerism leads to the infantilisation of society; huge levels of personal debt; and notions of truth and ethics that are as malleable as the market place. The larger culture of consumerism is now impacting the church in a number of ways. According to Trueman Read More …