Here the sermon for the Launch for 7-18-10.
Hope there is some resonation there for you!
Sermon 100718.mp3
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Sermon about Jesus
Sermon 100718.mp3
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Oh Christmas Tree!
The Christmas Tree means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I know, for example, that some Christians deliberately choose not to put up a Christmas tree due to it’s connections to pagan rituals. For these people, the Christmas Tree doesn’t have anything to do with Jesus, so they don’t want to have anything to do with a Christmas Tree. For other people, the Christmas Tree is precisely a reminder of Jesus. Just as important a fixture as the nativity scene on the mantel. For others, the Christmas Tree is primarily a reminder of family and the importance of staying connected to the people we love. It’s a nice family tradition.
The Christmas Tree means radically different things to different people. In a sense, it’s what you make of it. I like having a tree in the house. It smells nice. It looks pretty with lights on it and it has fun decorations on it. Some of those decorations are reminders of my family, some are reminders of Jesus, and some just look cool. Sometimes I think about Jesus when I look at the tree, but I think that’s in part because…it’s Christmas.
Anyway, I was thinking about this, and I realized that church has this same characteristic: it’s what you make of it. For some, it’s a family tradition. You do it cause that’s what you do. What’s the point in asking why? For some people, I think church is even a place where you go to be seen-it might be a place to do some networking. For some people, it’s about Jesus. It’s about wanting to meet with him, be changed by him, and worship him with other people who love him. For most of us it's probably been all of these things in different season, or weeks, in our lives. At times I think church is more about who you are or what you do than where you go on Sunday mornings…
There may be a sense of safety in taking church for granted, but I think there’s value in asking why we do church. So… Do you go to church? Why? Or, how do you “do” church? What’s your take on the Christmas tree?
By the way- I'm going to be moving over to a different blog. It's jaronkamin.wordpress.com
Hope to see you there!
The Christmas Tree means radically different things to different people. In a sense, it’s what you make of it. I like having a tree in the house. It smells nice. It looks pretty with lights on it and it has fun decorations on it. Some of those decorations are reminders of my family, some are reminders of Jesus, and some just look cool. Sometimes I think about Jesus when I look at the tree, but I think that’s in part because…it’s Christmas.
Anyway, I was thinking about this, and I realized that church has this same characteristic: it’s what you make of it. For some, it’s a family tradition. You do it cause that’s what you do. What’s the point in asking why? For some people, I think church is even a place where you go to be seen-it might be a place to do some networking. For some people, it’s about Jesus. It’s about wanting to meet with him, be changed by him, and worship him with other people who love him. For most of us it's probably been all of these things in different season, or weeks, in our lives. At times I think church is more about who you are or what you do than where you go on Sunday mornings…
There may be a sense of safety in taking church for granted, but I think there’s value in asking why we do church. So… Do you go to church? Why? Or, how do you “do” church? What’s your take on the Christmas tree?
By the way- I'm going to be moving over to a different blog. It's jaronkamin.wordpress.com
Hope to see you there!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Anti-venom for a consumeristic church?
People sometimes say that the modern Western church has become severely consumeristic. It's has become a competitive "industry" where different churches vie for a slice of market-share by having the snappiest service, the best children's program, or even the most compelling preaching. People sometimes say that the church has become consumeristic, and people are sometimes right.
The thing is, we have needs right? Don't we need an environment where we can focus on God? Don't we need to hear a sermon that will challenge or encourage us? Don't we want to feel like our kids are being taken care of and discovering the love of Jesus? I dunno... Sometimes?
The thing I am wondering is, maybe there is a cure for consumerism that doesn't leave us feeling like no one cares about us.
Here's the thing I'd like to try, and I'd love for the five or so people that occasionally glace at my blog to consider this as well.
What if we prayed for the leaders in our churches? What if we prayed that God would be near them, and they would know His deep love for them? That they would discern His leading and they would have courage to pursue it with passion, determination, and boldness? That God would rebuke their wayardness? What if we prayed that God would hold them up in their weakness, and bless their strengths, and give them humble hearts to do the wild and treacherous work of leading the church?
I'm not going to suggest that the result of this will be that we will suddenly feel like the church is meeting our needs, whatever that means. It might mean that we could start to have a little more confidence that God is with us as a community, and He is leading us as a community. If this was the case, we could at least know, maybe, that even if we didn't feel like all of our needs were being met, we could see that God was still taking us somewhere together.
I don't know. Maybe not... but maybe.
The thing is, we have needs right? Don't we need an environment where we can focus on God? Don't we need to hear a sermon that will challenge or encourage us? Don't we want to feel like our kids are being taken care of and discovering the love of Jesus? I dunno... Sometimes?
The thing I am wondering is, maybe there is a cure for consumerism that doesn't leave us feeling like no one cares about us.
Here's the thing I'd like to try, and I'd love for the five or so people that occasionally glace at my blog to consider this as well.
What if we prayed for the leaders in our churches? What if we prayed that God would be near them, and they would know His deep love for them? That they would discern His leading and they would have courage to pursue it with passion, determination, and boldness? That God would rebuke their wayardness? What if we prayed that God would hold them up in their weakness, and bless their strengths, and give them humble hearts to do the wild and treacherous work of leading the church?
I'm not going to suggest that the result of this will be that we will suddenly feel like the church is meeting our needs, whatever that means. It might mean that we could start to have a little more confidence that God is with us as a community, and He is leading us as a community. If this was the case, we could at least know, maybe, that even if we didn't feel like all of our needs were being met, we could see that God was still taking us somewhere together.
I don't know. Maybe not... but maybe.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"Sent People" Sermon
Here's a little sermon I gave on what it means to be a sent people. It's part two of a three-part vision series we are doing.
At the end, there is a question for reflection. The sermon ends after that, so if you feel like you're getting a long time to reflect, that's why: it's over.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/xsyb4yjkz8.mp3
At the end, there is a question for reflection. The sermon ends after that, so if you feel like you're getting a long time to reflect, that's why: it's over.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/xsyb4yjkz8.mp3
Monday, May 11, 2009
Why Connect?
At the Launch, we talk a lot about being God's "sent" people. We are not here to live for ourselfs, but instead, we exist more for everyone around us. But here's a confession: I'm not very good at being "sent". I'm very good at being selfish. I tend to look after me. I tend to do things that will be good for me. Sometimes I realize this and think to myself, "Dang. I've got to be praying more. I'm so focused on myself. I need to connect with God so that I can be more focused on others."
I was having one of these conversations recently (not actually with myself, but with my wife) and I got a bit of a wake up call. Ultimately, I shouldn't be praying just so that I can be more focused on others, but rather, I should be praying in order to stay connected to my God who loves me and gives me life. This is not to say that I don't want to be focused on others- I'm just saying interaction with God is good in itself. It's not supposed to be a means to an end, at least certainly not exclusively. I want to share in the peace and joy of Jesus, AND I want to be a different person because of it.
I was having one of these conversations recently (not actually with myself, but with my wife) and I got a bit of a wake up call. Ultimately, I shouldn't be praying just so that I can be more focused on others, but rather, I should be praying in order to stay connected to my God who loves me and gives me life. This is not to say that I don't want to be focused on others- I'm just saying interaction with God is good in itself. It's not supposed to be a means to an end, at least certainly not exclusively. I want to share in the peace and joy of Jesus, AND I want to be a different person because of it.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Furniture and Change
My office is in an old, old building. It's awesome. I love it. There's a parlor around the corner, and recently, the facilities manager of the building rearranged all the chairs and couches and the piano. All that stuff.
We talked about it, and I guess he was a little nervous that people would not receive the change too warmly. I'm only guessing, but I would assume that the reason people may not like the change is because they were used to the way it was. From looking at it, there was certainly nothing wrong with the new setup.
This got me thinking a little. Furniture is movable. Sometimes it gives the impression of permanence, and sometimes the stuff might be challenging to move around, but it can be done. It's not permanent.
I think sometimes we treat a lot of things we do or have done like it's furniture. We like it, we got used to it, and we think it's permanent. The fact is, sometimes rearranging things can give us a fresh perspective that's incredibly helpful. Sometimes we may even have to get rid of the once beautiful sofa which is now stained and musty. We're still thankful for all the years we got great use out of that couch, but it's time for the couch to go.
It's so easy to fall into this trap of doing things as a church a very particular way. We do it cause it worked, and then maybe at some point, whether or not it still works, we keep on doing it because it makes us feel safe. I'm just as susceptible to this as anyone else. Sometimes there are new, more effective ways of doing things, and sometimes old methods work great. Sometimes that chair that was banished to the attic comes back out decades later to make a stylish reappearance.
I just don't want the value to be that we don't change things. We need to change things.
What if we never switched to the telephone because we really liked the telegraph?
We talked about it, and I guess he was a little nervous that people would not receive the change too warmly. I'm only guessing, but I would assume that the reason people may not like the change is because they were used to the way it was. From looking at it, there was certainly nothing wrong with the new setup.
This got me thinking a little. Furniture is movable. Sometimes it gives the impression of permanence, and sometimes the stuff might be challenging to move around, but it can be done. It's not permanent.
I think sometimes we treat a lot of things we do or have done like it's furniture. We like it, we got used to it, and we think it's permanent. The fact is, sometimes rearranging things can give us a fresh perspective that's incredibly helpful. Sometimes we may even have to get rid of the once beautiful sofa which is now stained and musty. We're still thankful for all the years we got great use out of that couch, but it's time for the couch to go.
It's so easy to fall into this trap of doing things as a church a very particular way. We do it cause it worked, and then maybe at some point, whether or not it still works, we keep on doing it because it makes us feel safe. I'm just as susceptible to this as anyone else. Sometimes there are new, more effective ways of doing things, and sometimes old methods work great. Sometimes that chair that was banished to the attic comes back out decades later to make a stylish reappearance.
I just don't want the value to be that we don't change things. We need to change things.
What if we never switched to the telephone because we really liked the telegraph?
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