(#1) John 14 Sermon: Choosing a 'Theology' in NYC

(This is the first post in a Sermon on John 14:15-31. The text is where Jesus speaks to his confused disciples about the coming of the Spirit (the Advocate). Do me a favor and read the passage first. I'll be posting once or twice a day. Shall we begin?)

Laurel and I hosted a group of young people in our apartment a few weeks ago. There were one or two who were at Christ Church NYC, but most weren’t. And we listened to them as they talked about their families; and their home churches (if they had one); but their coming to New York; and then trying to find a church (very hard for many in NYC); and we talked about hard it is to make that particular choice. And we listened as they talked about what they believed and didn't believe, about which books they read, and which authors they weren’t sure about; and which theologies they most resonated with. And after listening for a while, I said to them:

You know, I don’t envy you guys for one little bit. It is ironic how hard it is to decide what you are going to believe in this country.

And that’s partly because you’ve got so much choice. And for young people coming out of the family nest for the first time, and coming to NYC, let’s face it: They feel like one small deer facing a sea of headlights.

And perhaps you feel that way too.

In this country, we have so much choice about everything. And that’s certainly true in the matter of faith. And that’s good, right? It’s the first clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ...

But the flip side of this (and I’m not advocating any alternative!) is that there is so much out there for our personal consumption, we either become a consumer or just plain confused:

Bloated on choice, or starved because we don’t know which choice to make.

More coming...