The Change You Really Can Believe In ~ Isaiah 42:1-12 ~ Contemporary Worship Celebration
A seminary professor once warned us: beware the three M’s...
Marriage
Money
Music
Because these three Ms will always be the three greatest sources of controversy in any church.
And this is not a new phenomenon...
My wife’s congregation recently uncovered 200-year-old congregational meeting minutes that describe a schism in the church that began in a debate over music...
In the Reformed Church tradition, it had long been believed that the singing of hymns during worship constituted a kind of idolatry. Since hymns are written by people and not divinely-inspired, they were considered blasphemous.
Only the Biblical Psalms, sung word-for-word, were believed appropriate in worship.
But it came to pass that the great hymn writer Isaac Watts composed a hymnal of the Psalms which paraphrased the biblical text so that they would be a better fit for the music—and the denomination endorsed its adoption as appropriate for use in worship.
You’ll know Watts as the composer of Joy to the World, Jesus Shall Reign, O God Our Help in Ages Past, and seven other hymns from our red hymnal...
It wasn’t long before Isaac Watts’ Psalter as it was called made its way to her congregation. Some were happy to get it—and eager for it to be adopted in their church. Others, however, were scandalized—and were prepared to fight against it and keep the church faithful to tradition.
One congregation with two factions—each believing that their way was God’s way.
In the end, the new Psalter was adopted—and half of the members left and joined another nearby congregation that retained the old tradition.
But we can be fairly certain that the faithful on both sides of this controversy were cursing this demon that struck their church like a bolt of lightning—a demon we know as change.
When you think about it, change is almost a dirty word—because we don’t know very much change that’s good. We know change as loved ones who’ve passed away; as good times that have come to an end... We know change as the ravage of age. Look at our community: we know change as vacant storefronts, shuttered steel mills, and closed churches.
Our president campaigned on the slogan "Change We Can Believe In..." His opponents, on the other hand, campaigned against him with the slogan "I’ll keep my guns, money, and freedom. You keep the change."
A personality test I took before I began seminary diagnosed me as "very resistant to change"—which comes as no surprise to me when I look back on my life.
My parents remember how angry I was as a seven-year-old when we moved into a new house.
Last November, I was absolutely sick to my stomach when the car I owned for nearly ten years became so unreliable that I had to replace it.
I could honestly say that I despise change. How about you?
And in a changing world, we want for our church to be a refuge in a world that’s rapidly changing and heading in a direction that scares us, quite frankly.
Yet, Jesus Christ inevitably brings change. That is exactly what the prophet Isaiah teaches us today. When God shows up in the person of Christ, things change. "The eyes of the blind are opened; the prisoners are released from the dungeon. The former things come to pass, and new things spring forth."
In other words, Jesus brings the kind of change we truly can believe in...
So the question becomes: what kind of change is Jesus bringing us today?
What is the difference his presence is making—in our lives, in our homes, in our work, in our relationships? In how we spend our time and our money? In how we look at the future?
We’re not going to notice much in the way of change if we do not allow for our faith to make its way into our daily lives. If we allow ourselves to become so busy that we take no time out for prayer or meditation on the Scriptures; if we’re not looking for opportunities to serve others or share our faith; we’re going to see little in the way of change. The status quo will remain the status quo. Jesus is change—and if we resist that change; if we allow for our lives and our routines and our priorities to remain what they've always been, Jesus will be little more than an intellectual belief.
But God’s will is for us to live in relationship to Jesus—and that demands us to open up our lives so that he may enter. It demands us to step out of our comfort zones so that we may be uplifted by his strength. It demands that we be open to change so that we can grow as God’s children; knowing Christ more deeply and becoming an agent of change in the new life he brings into the world.
Jesus has come to set right everything that has gone so wrong in the world. God is not pleased that there’s poverty and need in the world; God is not pleased that human beings sin against one another; and God is certainly not pleased that there are people out there who do not know the love of Christ.
Jesus means change. As God's children, we are changed—and as disciples, we create change. Our church is an agent of change in the world. God is taking the status quo and setting things right.
This leaves us with some important questions: what changes is God inviting in your life and mine? What change is God calling for in our church? What change are we invited to create?
These are very much opened-ended questions.
But knowing the kind of change we know God desires for us and for the world, there are answers to these questions... And when God desires change, God gives us what we need for the change to happen...
So take these three questions with you:
What changes does God desire that you may know Jesus Christ more fully?
What changes does God desire in for our congregation, so that we may be more faithful?
What gifts does God give to create change? What doors are open; what opportunities exist?
As people of God, we should always be prepared for change—because Jesus is in the world, and his kingdom is coming to fruition. If we’re ready to change and to be changed, God is going to show us the hope that is ours. We’re not going to be bruised and battered by all the terrible changes happening in the world. We’re going to be formed, healed, and strengthened by the power of God to know change and bring change as new life for ourselves, for our church, for our community, and for our world. Amen.
Marriage
Money
Music
Because these three Ms will always be the three greatest sources of controversy in any church.
And this is not a new phenomenon...
My wife’s congregation recently uncovered 200-year-old congregational meeting minutes that describe a schism in the church that began in a debate over music...
In the Reformed Church tradition, it had long been believed that the singing of hymns during worship constituted a kind of idolatry. Since hymns are written by people and not divinely-inspired, they were considered blasphemous.
Only the Biblical Psalms, sung word-for-word, were believed appropriate in worship.
But it came to pass that the great hymn writer Isaac Watts composed a hymnal of the Psalms which paraphrased the biblical text so that they would be a better fit for the music—and the denomination endorsed its adoption as appropriate for use in worship.
You’ll know Watts as the composer of Joy to the World, Jesus Shall Reign, O God Our Help in Ages Past, and seven other hymns from our red hymnal...
It wasn’t long before Isaac Watts’ Psalter as it was called made its way to her congregation. Some were happy to get it—and eager for it to be adopted in their church. Others, however, were scandalized—and were prepared to fight against it and keep the church faithful to tradition.
One congregation with two factions—each believing that their way was God’s way.
In the end, the new Psalter was adopted—and half of the members left and joined another nearby congregation that retained the old tradition.
But we can be fairly certain that the faithful on both sides of this controversy were cursing this demon that struck their church like a bolt of lightning—a demon we know as change.
When you think about it, change is almost a dirty word—because we don’t know very much change that’s good. We know change as loved ones who’ve passed away; as good times that have come to an end... We know change as the ravage of age. Look at our community: we know change as vacant storefronts, shuttered steel mills, and closed churches.
Our president campaigned on the slogan "Change We Can Believe In..." His opponents, on the other hand, campaigned against him with the slogan "I’ll keep my guns, money, and freedom. You keep the change."
A personality test I took before I began seminary diagnosed me as "very resistant to change"—which comes as no surprise to me when I look back on my life.
My parents remember how angry I was as a seven-year-old when we moved into a new house.
Last November, I was absolutely sick to my stomach when the car I owned for nearly ten years became so unreliable that I had to replace it.
I could honestly say that I despise change. How about you?
And in a changing world, we want for our church to be a refuge in a world that’s rapidly changing and heading in a direction that scares us, quite frankly.
Yet, Jesus Christ inevitably brings change. That is exactly what the prophet Isaiah teaches us today. When God shows up in the person of Christ, things change. "The eyes of the blind are opened; the prisoners are released from the dungeon. The former things come to pass, and new things spring forth."
In other words, Jesus brings the kind of change we truly can believe in...
So the question becomes: what kind of change is Jesus bringing us today?
What is the difference his presence is making—in our lives, in our homes, in our work, in our relationships? In how we spend our time and our money? In how we look at the future?
We’re not going to notice much in the way of change if we do not allow for our faith to make its way into our daily lives. If we allow ourselves to become so busy that we take no time out for prayer or meditation on the Scriptures; if we’re not looking for opportunities to serve others or share our faith; we’re going to see little in the way of change. The status quo will remain the status quo. Jesus is change—and if we resist that change; if we allow for our lives and our routines and our priorities to remain what they've always been, Jesus will be little more than an intellectual belief.
But God’s will is for us to live in relationship to Jesus—and that demands us to open up our lives so that he may enter. It demands us to step out of our comfort zones so that we may be uplifted by his strength. It demands that we be open to change so that we can grow as God’s children; knowing Christ more deeply and becoming an agent of change in the new life he brings into the world.
Jesus has come to set right everything that has gone so wrong in the world. God is not pleased that there’s poverty and need in the world; God is not pleased that human beings sin against one another; and God is certainly not pleased that there are people out there who do not know the love of Christ.
Jesus means change. As God's children, we are changed—and as disciples, we create change. Our church is an agent of change in the world. God is taking the status quo and setting things right.
This leaves us with some important questions: what changes is God inviting in your life and mine? What change is God calling for in our church? What change are we invited to create?
These are very much opened-ended questions.
But knowing the kind of change we know God desires for us and for the world, there are answers to these questions... And when God desires change, God gives us what we need for the change to happen...
So take these three questions with you:
What changes does God desire in for our congregation, so that we may be more faithful?
What gifts does God give to create change? What doors are open; what opportunities exist?
As people of God, we should always be prepared for change—because Jesus is in the world, and his kingdom is coming to fruition. If we’re ready to change and to be changed, God is going to show us the hope that is ours. We’re not going to be bruised and battered by all the terrible changes happening in the world. We’re going to be formed, healed, and strengthened by the power of God to know change and bring change as new life for ourselves, for our church, for our community, and for our world. Amen.
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