Doubting in the Bronx?

At 2:17AM someone in the Bronx was directed to my Blog by typing these words into a search engine:

im born again water and spirit but doubt sometimes

It made me a touch sad when I read that. It almost felt like a prayer typed into the Net. If you log on again, my new friend from the Bronx, click here for some of my work on being 'Born from above'.

What would you say to Mr. or Ms. Bronx?

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Pic in Flickr by DownTown Pictures.

Sermon Audio: John 3:1-21.

I Blogged the sermon from John 3:1-21 last week. I Blogged it when the sound guy told that the recording didn't work. But last week, he pressed the right button, and now I have a recording. I'm pleased about that, because it is a record of the sermon at Junior's Baptism -- something that he can listen to years later (should he desire).

Click HERE to listen.

(Right Click to download. It's 21 minutes.)

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Pic by Yvette Gallardo D'Elia

Born Twice #10: What are the effects of New Birth?

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
This is the final post. Read all posts HERE (from the bottom)

And what effect does New Birth have on a person's life?

Well, there are millions of wonderful effects -- being rescued by God is but one of them.

But one mentioned here in John 3 is that a person in Christ has the chance to be radically honest about their life and sin. They can radically pursue a New Life, starting up their life in a fresh way. V17- They know that Jesus did not come bent on condemning them. But on saving them. And they have Jesus as a demonstration of this.

And because they can rest in the knowledge that they are loved and accepted by the one who matters most, they can let their lives be 'exposed'.

Oscar Wilde once said:

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

A person in Christ is able to take off their mask, and still tell the truth. At least, they ought to!

They are able to say to God - 'Tell me how you want me to live my life. I've been determining how to live my life. But now, you determine it.'

V20-21 - A Christian does not have to avoid the light. But they can come to the light, knowing that what they do will be acceptable to the God who has dealt with their life.

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NOW -- I can't take away the cultural cringe factor, and the ‘alien factor’ may remain. But it's important to know that a Christian is not just a sincere person, nor a person who simply contributes to society. And pays her taxes. And is nice to other people. They may be all of that.

But a Christian is a person who says: What happened to Junior last Monday, that has happened to me - I have been anew born from God.

And that has changed and shaped and colored everything!

Fin.

Are you still reading?
Comments? (Thanks Benjamin -- I will respond soon!)

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Pic on Flickr by !!sahrivi!!.

Born Twice #9: How does God bring about New Birth?

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

Two questions:

First, How does God do that? How does he bring about New Birth?

The answer in our text is in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

It is the radical grace of God - in the giving of his Son - that gives a person a new birth.

The word 'so' means 'in this way'? The ESV offers a translation "For this is how God loved the world...". In what way?

The illustration that Jesus uses for how he 'gave' his one and only son is in V14:

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus chooses an obscure text in Numbers 21. The Israelites, because of their sin, were bitten by poisonous snakes, and God commands Moses to make a bronze snake, put it up on a pole, lift it up and when the people looked at it, they were healed.

Jesus draws the parallel to his own death. Just as the snake was lifted up, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

Lifted up onto the cross.

Just as a mother hurts and bleeds and struggles to give birth to a child (I saw it on Monday), so Jesus hurt and bled and struggled in order to give new life. When we stare at Christ and his death, and his new birth in Resurrection - that is, when we believe in him - we will be healed.

What happened to Nicodemus?

In John 19:39, Nicodemus' goes to the cross to collect Jesus' Body. He goes to were Jesus was 'lifted up'. And we must go there too in repentance, and faith.

What does the Apostle Peter (in Acts 2) say on the day of Pentecost - to people cut to the heart.

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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Pic on Flickr by BullyRook.

Born Twice #8: All of God. All of Grace.

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

Third Conclusion - a New Birth is an activity only of God!

What do we mean by that?

Did Junior choose to be born? There is an obvious answer to that. No, he didn't! Of course not.

Have you thought about this? The most basic reality in our life - the breath in our lungs, and the life we have - this is not something we chose. Laurel did all the work with Junior. We talk regularly about controlling our lives, but at its foundation, life is a the choice of another.

Not one person alive in this room chose to be alive.

And so it is with being born a second time: God reaches lives and HE rescues US. We do not rescue ourselves. Indeed we cannot rescue ourselves.

What does Psalm 40 say?

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and he set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.

Only God can save a person.

It is all of grace.

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And yes, that is a self take from Wife just before she gave birth. She calls it: "The Belly and The Boy".

Born Twice #7: To not Trivialize Sin.

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

Here is the Second Conclusion -- a New Birth ceases to trivialize the deep reality of sin that is at the core of every human heart.

Comedian Dennis Miller was asked if he was 'Born again'. He said:

No, I'm not. Excuse me for getting it right the first time.

The Bible said that no one gets it right the first time. Everyone born is part of the problem. We all know pain. We have experienced pain. We have inflicted pain. It always hurts.

See, we tend to think of sin at best as a flu that needs a little treatment. Or at worst, that sin is a cancer presently eating away at the body.

But Sin is like a cancer having already claimed a life. Even as we live, we are already 'dead in our sins', the Bible says. And the only way out of it is a whole new birth: a Resurrection with Jesus.

Sin, therefore, is treated with the seriousness that it 'deserves'.

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Pic by Word Freak. Only a few St Ives people will 'get' why I chose a bent fork as the pic! :)

Born Twice #6: The Blue Screen of death

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

Let's draw 3 conclusions, and ask 2 questions. This may help us all to know what it means to for someone to be Christian.

First conclusion - This is deeply radical!

The Christian is not simply getting a little religion to round off a good life. The Human life is not 'an otherwise good product' that needs a lick of paint.

The human life needs to be completely remade. And this is radical.

If I can switch metaphors to make the same point: Sin has turned the human heart into the 'Blue Screen of Death'. And the computer needs a new hard drive, not just a dust down.

It's important to note that Nicodemus is a good man: No doubt he pays his taxes, contributes to the economy, and is sincere. He is moral and religious. But Jesus says: "You too need to be born again".

We tend to think of 'born again' people as people who claim religious or moral ground. But Jesus comment is a challenge to morality and to religion, not an affirmation of it. Nicodemus has morality and religion in spades, but Jesus says - Even YOU need to be born from above!

No matter what you are or what have done, you have to start at Ground Zero with God. It’s one of the beautiful things about Christianity: It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile; male or female; slave or free; black or white; rich or poor; Republican or Democrat -- every has to start at the beginning.

And that's radical.

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Personally, I think its incredible that 'Blue Screen of Death' has a HUGE Wikipedia Entry. Don't you?

Born Twice #5: From the Outside In, and from the Inside Out

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

And then the punch in V10: Jesus answered him,

Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

Jesus is saying - if you had understood your Jewish Bible, you'd understand this: In Ezekiel 36:24-27, God promised that for his people to be saved (for them to see the Kingdom), they would need to have their sins washed with water(Symbolized by baptism) and they need to have God's Spirit placed in them.

That is, they would need a new forgiveness coming from 'Outside In' (God's washing of sins). And they would need a new motivation coming from the 'Inside Out' (God giving new hearts moved and ready to obey him).

And coupled this with Ezekiel 37:11-14, where God describes the Resurrection promised to Israel (A second birth for the nation), Nicodemus ought to have known what Jesus was referring to.

To be sure, Junior went through birth for the first time last Monday. And I went through it some 30+ years ago.

But according to Jesus, neither Junior nor I will ever see the powerful and beautiful rule of God; the love of God, nor the justice of God without also having a birth from above.

This is an astounding thought. It's a sobering thought.

Let's draw 3 conclusions, and ask 2 questions, and this may help us all to know what it means to for someone to be Christian.

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Pic by Peter Kim.

Born Twice #4: A late night decaf coffee with Jesus

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

Nicodemus (V1) comes to Jesus under the cover of night (Perhaps a little afraid of being seen with Jesus.) So they get together for a late decaf coffee. Nicodemus is a good man who keeps the law (a Pharisee). He says V2: "We know that you are from God". The plural ‘we’ suggests that he is representing a group who think that Jesus is also moral and good. So he is there perhaps to make a deal with Jesus, since Jesus is getting popular. Nicodemus is therefore diplomatic and generous: V2

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God.

Jesus in virtually interrupts him and shoots straight. It's late, and there's no point in chit-chat. V3

Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.

Jesus clearly says "Being born from above" - i.e. being born of God. But Nicodemus just hears that he has to be born. So he assumes that it is again. V4

"How can a senior citizen like me re-enter my mother's birth canal and uterus?! I can't even get into the backseat of a taxi without help these days, and you want me to be born all over again?!"

It is doubtful that Nicodemus actually took Jesus literally. He's poking fun at Jesus' comment.

If Jesus detected the shtick, he lets it slide and so repeats what he had just said in V5. He expands on it, making clear he's talking about a re-birth from the Spirit.

As he was talking, a gust of wind slams the door and so Jesus says, V8 "Did you hear that? The wind blows here and there, but you never really know where it comes from, or where it may go next. God's Spirit is like that, Nicodemus. He is uncontrollable. Sometimes he comes with gale-force strength, sometime with breeze. But when the Spirit blows into your heart, you are made new from the inside out- Fresh and young like a newborn baby."

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Art by F. Alexandre Bida.

Born Twice #3: Restarting...

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

After examining Jesus words: it would seem being 'born again' is about a person's life being totally restarted in and by Jesus. And not just re-modelled with morality. It's about one's life being resurrected. Resurrected from the dead. Resurrected from sin. It's about being rebooted. Being rebooted from God. Re-starting.

Just as 'Junior' was born of Laurel (and not of himself), so a Christian is someone born of God (and not of him or herself).

And it's not about being moral. (In fact it's a challenge to morality.) And it's not about being religious (Being religious can be a way to avoid this 'restart'.)

Now, if that seems weird, or it is mystery to you, then Nicodemus is your man. For Nicodemus no doubt worked up a sweat trying to understand what Jesus was talking about. So let's see if we can too. The irony is that the first ever conversation about being 'born again' was a 'cultural divide moment'. It would seem that not a lot has changed.

More to come...

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Pic by Peter Kim.

Born Twice #2: We may as well be aliens

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

And so we have this culture divide. An 'Us' Verses 'Them' divide.

If any of you are not Christian; or you are not sure; or even if you are consider yourself only 'religious', then you probably do not understand your crazy in-laws... the ones who call themselves 'born-again'.

And if you are Christian, you are concerned for your family, or your friends. They don't understand what being a follower of Jesus means to you. They call your faith a 'phase' in your 20s, a 'security blanket' in your 40s, 'Conservatism' in your 60s.

And there you both are, sitting and staring at each other thinking: We are so much alike -- same gene-pool; same race. But sometimes, we may as well be aliens.

The way to (at least) understand the divide is to know what Jesus meant in V3:

'No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.'

Jesus is the one who put the phrase on our cultural map. So it's important to let him define his own phrase. So don't go with just what you think. Or what you were brought up with. Or your crazy in-laws. And certainly don't go with what the media say.

Let Jesus have his word.

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Pic by Peter Kim.

Born Twice #1: Born to be an Easy target

CHRIST CHURCH NYC Sermon (From 18th of May 2008)
John 3:1-21 (Sermon is from the NRSV)

It’s extraordinary, for me, that the text set for this particular Sunday is: 'You must be born from above'. So for more than one reason I have been thinking about birth and new birth all week! :)

I received an email this week reminding me of what I already knew: That the phrase ‘born-again-Christian’ has an enormous cultural cringe factor, especially here in the US.

Jimmy Carter made much of being 'born again' in his 1976 bid for presidency. Born-Again Christians have recently been cast into what appears to be a ‘voting-block’ called ‘evangelicals’. But no one is really sure what the word means anymore! Which is a pity to my mind.

And so 'Born-Again’s' have become easy targets: American Writer -- PJ O’Rourke:

Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope.

English Journalist -- Katherine Whitehorn:

Why do born-again people so often make you wish they'd never been born the first time?

But more needs to be said..

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Photo by Peter Kim.