Christ Redeemer Church >> Sunday Sermons

REFLECTION QUOTES


“…if the church is what it says it is, then you are also told how to test the hypothesis. And you are told to knock and to knock and to knock, and to be shown.”

~Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980),
famed philosopher of communication theory


“As myth transcends thought, Incarnation transcends myth. The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact…To be truly Christian we must both assent to the historical fact and also receive the myth (fact though it has become) with the same imaginative embrace which we accord to all myths. The one is hardly more necessary than the other…We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology.”

~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“The Divine light, we are told ‘lighteneth every man’. We should, therefore, expect to find in the imagination of great Pagan teachers and myth-makers some glimpse of the that theme which we believe to be the very plot of the whole cosmic story—the theme of incarnation, death and re-birth. And the difference between the Pagan Christs…and the Christ Himself is much what we should expect to find. The Pagan stories are all about someone dying and rising, either every year, or else nobody knows where and nobody knows when. The Christian story is about a historical personage, whose execution can be dated pretty accurately, under a named Roman magistrate, and with whom the society that He founded is in a continuous relation down to the present day. It is not the difference between falsehood and truth. It is the difference between a real event on the one hand and dim dreams or premonitions of that same event on the other.”

~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed-miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity, I think, from the evidence offered for the occurrence of most other supposedly miraculous events.”

~Anthony Flew (1923-2010), famed atheistic philosopher of religion

SERMON PASSAGE


1 John 1:1-10 (NASB)

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

REFLECTION QUOTES

“Understanding God is not attained by calling into session all arguments for and against Him, in order to debate whether He is a reality or a figment of the mind. God cannot be sensed as a second thought, as an explanation of the origin of the universe. He is either the first and the last, or just another concept.”

~Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), a leading Jewish thinker of the 20th century

“Religion is our negotiation with God to try to get his help in exchange for our good behavior.”

~Michael Spencer (1956-2010), internet blogger

“My sin was all the more incurable because I thought I was not a sinner; and my iniquity was more execrable in that I would rather have you, God Almighty, vanquished in me to my destruction, than myself vanquished by you for my salvation.”

~St. Augustine (354-430), Bishop in North Africa

“Sin isn’t only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry.”

~Tim Keller, contemporary pastor in New York City

“The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. But, we shall come to know that these are but the same thing. To fully enjoy is to fully glorify.”

~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

“People are not looking for the Gospel; the Gospel is looking for them.”

~Anonymous

SERMON PASSAGE


1 John 1:1-10 (NASB)

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

REFLECTION QUOTES

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him
in the living years

You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talkin’ in defense
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It’s the bitterness that lasts

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It’s too late when we die
To admit we don’t see eye to eye

~“The Living Years” by Mike & the Mechanics (1989)

“We live in a time when high self-esteem is encouraged from childhood, when young people have more freedom and independence than ever, but also far more depression, anxiety, cynicism, and loneliness… More than any other generation in history, the children of Baby Boomers are disappointed by what they find when they arrive at adulthood.”

~Dr. Jean Twenge, professor of Psychology
at San Diego State University in her book
Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans
Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—
and More Miserable Than Ever Before

“…[U]nderlying all this parental angst is the hopeful belief that if we just make the right choices, that if we just do things a certain way, our kids will turn out to be not just happy adults, but adults that make us happy.”

~Lori Gottlieb, “How to Land Your Kid in Therapy” (The Atlantic, July/August 2011)

“We’re [parents] always bluffing, pretending we know best, when most of the time we’re just praying we won’t screw up too badly.”

~Jodi Picoult in House Rules

SERMON PASSAGE

Selections from Proverbs

7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (1:7)

1My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life,
And peace they will add to you.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (3:1-2, 5-6)

27Cease listening, my son, to discipline and you will stray from the words of knowledge. (19:27)

1A wise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish son is a grief to his mother. (10:1)

3A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth. (29:3)

1A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,

But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. (13:1)

32He who neglects discipline despises himself,

But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.
33The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,

And before honor comes humility. (15:32-33)

12There is a way which seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death. (14:12)

24He who withholds his rod hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. (13:24)

15The rod and reproof give wisdom,
But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. (29:15)

15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. (22:15)

17The eye that mocks a father,
And scorns a mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it. (30:17)

18Discipline your son while there is hope,

And do not desire his death. (19:18)

5Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
6Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it. (22:5-6)

REFLECTION QUOTES

“Freedom is when you have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do what will leave you with no regrets forever.”

~John Piper, contemporary theologian and author

“If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshiped.”

~Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), English novelist

“I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, I hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”

~Thomas Nagel, professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University

“Atheism is a crutch for those who cannot bear the reality of God.”

~Tom Stoppard, Academy Award winning screenwriter

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

~John 1:1

“Heaven and earth will pass away but my word will not pass away.”

~Jesus in Matthew 24:35

SERMON PASSAGE

Psalm 119:89-96 (NASB)
81My soul languishes for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
82My eyes fail with longing for Your word,
While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
84How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85The arrogant have dug pits for me,
Men who are not in accord with Your law.
86All Your commandments are faithful;
They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!
87They almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I did not forsake Your precepts.
88Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

89Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.
90Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;
You established the earth, and it stands.
91They stand this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things are Your servants.
92If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction.
93I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me.
94I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
95The wicked wait for me to destroy me;
I shall diligently consider Your testimonies.
96I have seen a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.