Sermon by: Robert Austell; November 26, 2017 - 2 Samuel 7:8-17 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  Your browser does not support the audio element. :: Scripture and Music :: Crown Him with Many Crowns (DIADEMATA)  Lion of Judah (Robin Mark) Revelation Song (Jenny Lee Riddle) :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. Today is what is called “Christ the King Sunday.” As you may know, the Christian Church has organized the calendar year in such a way as to tell the biblical story year after year. Some individual churches use this church calendar more than others, but almost everyone observes Christmas and Easter and the seasons leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth and resurrection. Next Sunday we will begin Advent, and will begin looking forward to Christmas. But today, is really the end and culmination of the church calendar because we celebrate Christ as King. Next Sunday we start telling the story all over again. You have already heard bookend scriptures on the Kingship of Christ. You just heard the covenant promise to King David that would culminate in the coming and reign of Christ. The call to worship described the final scene of Christ as King, victorious over the powers of evil and death. But in another sense, the whole biblical story points towards that ending. And so during the sermon I will read several texts which name Christ as King, to remind us that at every point in history, and at every point in our own lives, Jesus Christ IS King of kings and Lord of Lords. That is something for which I am so thankful and it is Good News indeed! Let’s look briefly at each of these texts. Promised King (2 Samuel 7) Let’s start with the text from 2 Samuel. The point I want to make here is that the birth of God’s Messiah as “King” was promised ahead of time. One approach to Jesus is to believe that he was an ordinary man (and baby) who God blessed in a special way and set apart. But that is not the biblical story. From the beginning of time God planned to send His Son into the world to make a way for us to be restored to relationship with God. From the earliest parts of scripture, in the stories and promises of God’s people, and reaching as far as the magi or three wise men, God’s promise of a King was known. This promise was implicit in the curse and promise in the Garden and in the covenant with Abraham. It was made explicit in the covenant with David that you just heard. God told David: 12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. At first the passage goes on to say “when he commits iniquity” (v.14) which points towards David’s son, Solomon, as the fulfilment of promise. But then God goes on to say, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (v. 16) This points far beyond any earthly, human kingdom to the God’s own eternal Kingdom, with Christ as the eternal kingly heir of David. In good Hebrew prophetic manner, BOTH can be true at once. For example, “He shall build a house for my name” (v. 13) seems to describe Solomon, who builds the Temple David began to plan for the Lord. But Jesus also speaks of tearing down the earthly Temple and rebuilding it in three days (with the Temple of his resurrected body). So again, there can be an immediate aspect and application of God’s words as well as an eternal and spiritual one. And, as the Gospel writers

Sermon by: Robert Austell; November 19, 2017 - Colossians 3:12-17 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Testimony by Cynthia Wiley :: What has God been teaching you or doing with you recently? :: Scripture and Music :: Every Praise (Hezekiah Walker, John David Bratton) Forever (Chris Tomlin) Jesus Christ is the Way (Dawn Anthony, soloist; w/choir) (Hawkins/Bean) Only What is Done for Christ Will Remain (Dawn Anthony, soloist) Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (BEECHER)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. We’ve spent a number of weeks talking about the body as a picture of what it means to be the Church and to be a Christian. Last week we added building imagery: foundations, materials, and a building plan – to talk about God’s purpose of setting us apart to be in community with Him and for Him in this world. Today we return – in a way – to the body imagery to talk about the character of a follower of Christ. But the wonderful picture the Apostle Paul begins with in Colossians is not a body, per se, but the image of clothing a body. Using something we do every day – getting dressed – Paul will challenge us to “put on” the qualities and character of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus means being like Jesus. And this is a particularly easy to understand word-picture. Having said that, I appreciate that the passage doesn’t just start with the dressing. Rather, it starts with our identity – WHO WE ARE in Christ. And then it moves to HOW WE ARE using several more images or metaphors to help us understand how our identity in Christ shapes our relationship to others, to ourselves, and with God. WHO You Are (v.12) Beginning then in Colossians 3:12, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ are called “chosen of God, holy and beloved.”  Have you ever considered that, or is church just something you do?  If you trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are chosen of God and you are holy AND beloved.  We talked some about ‘holy’ (or ‘consecrated’) last week – it doesn’t mean you are perfect, but means that your belonging to God is evident in your life… you are distinctly His. Having begun with who we are, Paul goes on in great detail to describe what makes a Christian so distinct: HOW WE ARE in the world.  How should we be identifiable as belonging to God, like we talked about last week.  There is a list of ways. HOW You Are Dressed (vv.12-14) In verse 12, those who belong to Jesus are supposed to look like Jesus.  Paul uses “put on” to describe a list of character traits and this is the same word for putting on clothes.  We are to put on the character of Christ each day just like we get dressed for the day.  Here’s the list, and listen for the outcome of dressing this way.  “Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  And here’s how that kind of Christ-like character bears fruit in the world around us.  Those character traits will cause us to bear with and forgive each other, just like Jesus did with us. How you are dressed profoundly shapes and affects how we interact with OTHERS. Remember the ending point last week, which was repeated at the beginning of verse 12 today… we are to be consecrated or holy.  That doesn’t mean holier-than-thou and doesn’t mean perfect; it means set apart as distinct for God’s honor or glory.  We are to be identifiable as belonging to God in such a way that we rub off on others in a positive and credible way.  That’s what Paul is describing here.  A Christian isn’t the one with the best

Sermon by: Robert Austell; November 5, 2017 - Matthew 6:16-24; Luke 12 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Testimony :: What has God been teaching you or doing in your life lately? Mark Katibah :: Scripture and Music :: We Praise Thee, O God (KREMSER) Be Thou My Vision/Open My Eyes (SLANE, arr. Austell; refrain Austell/Youngblood) Be Ye Glad (Blanchard) - duet All in All (Jernigan) As the Deer (Nystrom)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. Today we are in the Gospels, where Matthew and Luke talk about things like worry, priorities, reputation, and vision. In doing so, Matthew speaks of the body, in somewhat more literal terms than we’ve seen in previous weeks. In today’s text from Matthew 6, Jesus is talking about the things we treasure, whether of this world or of God’s Kingdom. He issues us a stern warning as well as a hopeful challenge. Then he goes on to speak about knowing a person’s heart through the clarity of their vision. Those are the three topics I’d like to take up with you today: Jesus’ warning, his challenge, and the clarity of our vision for Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church. And those topics should instruct and direct our individual choices of giving and financial commitment. The Warning (v.19) Jesus warns us in Matthew 6: Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon earth. (v.19) This warning comes in the midst of his “sermon on the mount.” In this extended teaching, he is claiming God’s teaching of old, but re-interpreting it in an internalized, heart-changing way. His teaching on “treasure” or money is no different. His bottom-line concern is, “Where is your heart?” And so he cautions us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon earth.” There are at least two reasons why disregarding his warning is fruitless. Jesus reminds us that “moth and rust destroy” such treasure. His meaning is plain: earthly treasures – things like possessions, money, cars, houses, and the rest – are subject to age and decay. Every house or monument we build will eventually fall. Nothing of this world lasts in the end. The forces of time and nature, moth and rust, will eventually win out. Beware moth and rust, because we can’t take it with us. Jesus also says, “thieves break in and steal.” (v.20) Our earthly treasures are also up for grabs. Whether it’s literal theft or someone coming after our job or creditors re-claiming what they loaned us, we can expend a whole lot of energy defending our stuff, with no promise at the end of the day that we will be successful. And even if our literal money is safe, the evening news reminds us night after night that everything in this world is temporary and fleeting. Beware the thieves of this world that can claim it all in an instant. Realizing the truth of Jesus’ warning should make us clamor for an answer! You’re right Jesus, but if everything we treasure here can be lost in an instant, what in the world is worth treasuring? The Challenge (v.20) Fortunately, Jesus doesn’t leave us wanting for the answer. He issues a clear and hopeful challenge: store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… (v.20) And these treasures are impervious to moth and rust and impossible for thieves to steal away. 1 Peter 1:3-5 describes the “living hope” of this heavenly treasure: Blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the pow

 Sermon by: Robert Austell; September 3, 2017 - Psalm27; John 1:1-5; Romans 8:15-17 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Singing Together: No Longer Slaves (Helser) Singing Together: Our Confidence is in the Lord (Richards; arr. Austell) Hymn of Sending: The Solid Rock (SOLID ROCK)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. Today in our summer “Psalm+1” series, we look at Psalm 27, which deals with God’s help when we are afraid. We will also look at John 1 and Romans 8 as New Testament passages that remind us of just what Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” Along the way we will discover some tools God gives us for strengthening our trust and hope in Him. What Do You Fear? What do you fear? What makes you afraid? If phobias first jumped to mind (spiders, snakes, etc…), let me press in a little different direction. What makes you worry? Listen to the list of dangers, evils, and trouble in Psalm 27. Some are real and already experienced; others are potential, something perhaps to worry about: - evildoers who came to devour my flesh, my adversaries and enemies (v. 2) - a host (army) encamped against me… war raised against me (v. 3) - a “day of trouble” (v. 5) - enemies around me (v. 6) - God hiding His face, turning away in anger, abandoning/forsaking me (v. 9) - adversaries, false witnesses, violent people (v. 12) - I would have despaired…. (v. 13) If you listened to the whole of Psalm 27 as it was read, you know that these fears were mixed in the middle of faithful prayer, seeking, and trusting God. But they still amounted to two real fears: 1) that these many dangerous and violent adversaries would overcome me; and 2) that God would not show up, not help. What Shall We Do With Our Fears? What shall we do with our fears? All alone, of course, fear is not an unhealthy thing. It is the appropriate reaction – often instinctually – to danger. In some contexts it can save our lives. The real problem comes when fear turns to worry and anxiety. Our fears themselves can become the adversary and enemy, taking on a life of their own. They can become our gods, that which directs our path, our choices and behavior. Our fears can enslave us, stealing our freedom, joy, and purpose. What shall we do with our fears? I do not have quick or easy answers, but I would point you to several themes in Psalm 27. None of these are the kind of antidote you can purchase off the shelf, but are patterns of belief and behavior, habits that can only be ingrained over time and practice. Let me describe them, then return to the question of what to do with our fears. Confidence in the Lord (vv. 1-3) Confidence seems like a strange place to start, and it is. Confidence is the fruit of belief and behavior made habit; it’s not the starting place. But this is poetry and the Psalmist isn’t teaching a lesson, but describing life. Consider it an up-front description of the hope and courage this Psalmist has found in the face of serious challenges. I’ll come back and say more in a bit, but will simply note know that the confidence isn’t in the writer’s own strength or cleverness or resources, but in God. Too often we plug something or someone other than God into the lines: ______ is my light and salvation; _____ is the defense of my life. And if we put lesser things or people as our light, salvation, and defense, is there any wonder our confidence is shaky? But, I also understand that one does not just decide to be confident in the Lord. It is the result of something else. Seeking God’s Presence (vv. 4-1

Sermon by: Robert Austell; October 29, 2017 - 1 Peter 2:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-16; Mark 10:13-16 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Oh How Good it Is (Getty, Holmes, Townend) A Mighty Fortress (EIN' FESTE BURG) CHOIR: The Truth Will Make You Free (Krentz-Organ) All I Have is Christ (Jordan Kauflin/Sovereign Grace)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. Today we pick back up on the Body series, looking at a number of places where scripture helps us understand the church and the Christian life by means of a metaphor or comparison with the human body. Today we’ll look at an interesting feature of the body: growth and growing pains. In the children’s sermon I talked about literal “growing pains” – sharing my experience in high school with Osgood-Schlatter’s, a painful condition just below the knee that comes from lots of exercise at the same time as a rapid growth spurt. It’s not harmful, just hard; and it was just part of growing up. On the screen is a comic I found that talks about the same thing in a different way – showing a character’s body growing rapidly, but not all at the same time: first the legs, then arms, then feet. Growing never seems to be simple or easy, but it is necessary for health and life! We looked at the Ephesians 4 text a few weeks ago, but we are returning to it again today. At the very end of it (v. 16) Paul describes the church as being “fitted and held together by what every joint supplies.” And as each part works properly, it “causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” 500 years ago, the Church experienced a painful growth spurt. It needed to be challenged and changed and a monk named Martin Luther was right there at the joint between tendon and bone. Much like my painful growing pains as an adolescent, many in the church just wanted him to go away. But he was being used by God for health and growth and for both the Protestant Reformation that resulted as well as Catholic reform that happened later, what Martin Luther supplied to the body was blessed by God. So today will be part history lesson, part digging into our scripture texts, and part application as we consider where God would stretch us to grow and mature in faith and faithfulness. History: Martin Luther and Sola Scriptura You may know that Martin Luther challenged the Church in a number of ways. We could focus on the practices he spoke out against, like paying money for indulgences or the inaccessibility of scriptures to laypeople. But those challenges may also be framed as five theological principles he spoke out FOR. They have come to be known as the “five solas.” Sola is Latin for ‘alone’ or ‘only’ and his growth challenge to the Church may be listed in this way: •    Scripture alone •    Grace alone •    Faith alone •    Christ alone •    God’s glory alone It is the first of those that I want to focus on today, but each has a common thread: that God provides what we need and what we can’t provide in terms of revelation, salvation, and purpose. Martin Luther struggled so with the teaching of his day and realized that he could not attain his own salvation, nor could church tradition take precedence over God’s revelation in scripture and through Christ. So Martin Luther struggled, painfully, with the ‘milk’ of his spiritual childhood and challenged the whole Body of Christ to look afresh at God’s Word. Sola Scriptura, or “scripture alone” does not mean that the interpretation or theology of the Church or a tradition o

Sermon by: the Rev. Dr. Edward Newberry; October 22, 2017 Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20; Acts 2:43-47 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Holy, Holy, Holy (NICAEA) Holiness (Underwood) Jesus, All for Jesus (Mark) :: Sermon Manuscript :: There is no manuscript this week.

Sermon by: Kathy Larson; October 15, 2017 - Matthew 18:21-35 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Ye Servants of God (HANOVER) Pass Me Not (PASS ME NOT) Great is Thy Faithfulness (FAITHFULNESS) :: Testimony :: Clay Cupples   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: There is no manuscript this week, but the slides are included below in case you'd like to view them as you listen to the audio. Links:  Renee Napier's Foundation: http://www.themeagannapierfoundation.com/home.php Story Behind the Song: Matthew West, Forgiveness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz3tkHv5sbg The Hiding Place: Corrie ten Boom's biography - https://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Place-Triumphant-Story-Corrie/dp/0553256696 CBS article on Charleston victims' families forgiveness - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/families-show-forgiveness-for-alleged-church-shooter/

Sermon by: Robert Austell; October 8, 2017 - 1 Corinthians 9:23-27; Hebrews 12:1-3 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Light the Fire Again (Doerksen) One Pure and Holy Passion (Altrogge) Guide My Feet (SPIRITUAL) The Lord Bless You and Keep You, choral benediction   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” Today we are going to try to understand what that means. To explain it, the apostle Paul turns again to the human body, which we’ve been looking at for several weeks as a metaphor for the community of believers in Jesus Christ. Today, instead of looking at the body itself, we will focus on activities of the body to understand how we participate in what Christ is doing. Paul will use the analogy of a race (and briefly, boxing), and training for those things, to explain that opening statement, “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” I have often challenged you to ask the question, “What is God doing and how can I be a part of that?” Paul’s statement turns that around, explaining to us how to become “fellow partakers” – that is, how to be a part of what God is doing. Even if you can’t relate to the analogy of running a race, listen hard, because the principles laid out apply to any goal we might have, and ultimately this is not about running or winning a 5k, but about participating in what God is doing! Running the Race (1 Corinthians 9) I want to start in 1 Corinthians 9 with that opening statement in verse 23. To begin to understand it I need to define a few words. The first is GOSPEL. Literally, it means “good news” but here it specifically the Good News about Jesus: who he was, what he said, and what he did. News would be reporting on those things. What makes it good is the content of the person, word, and work of Jesu because HE is good. And the question at hand is “How can I experience that goodness? How can I receive the benefit or blessing of who Jesus was, what he said, and what he did?” That’s signaled by “so that” – that’s the result, the outcome that Paul seeks. With that outcome in mind, Paul “does all things for the sake of the gospel.” That’s so wide-ranging: all things! So Paul’s thoughts, actions, vision, purpose, time, resources… it’s all focused in service to the gospel (who Jesus was, what Jesus said, and what Jesus did). And Paul’s hope (if not his teaching) is that following Jesus in this way will result in taking part. Said more simply, that’s why the disciples followed Jesus. They gave up everything else to follow after Jesus in order to learn from and be blessed by Him. And that’s what followers of Jesus have continued to do over the ages. It makes sense. If you think Jesus has something for humanity, for you, the best way to experience that is to follow closely, listen carefully, and commit fully. What follows is an extended analogy to try to explain that. Paul says, in effect, “You know, it’s like those who train to win a race.” … You don’t just walk up to a race and expect to win. Nor do you just train casually or haphazardly. If you really want to win a race, you put everything into it. He goes on to list three qualities of those who train well. Self-Control (v. 25) – Specifically, he lists self-control. In terms of a race this might mean regular, intentional training. Running the distance, preparing for hills or weather. It means watching food and weight, trying to stay healthy. All that has application for our spiritual lives. When w

Sermon by: Robert Austell; October 1, 2017 - Ephesians 4:1-16 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Come as You Are (Crowder) - call to worship Jesus, All for Jesus (Robin Mark) How Beautiful (Twila Paris) - offertory duet The Church's One Foundation (AURELIA)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. Paul is writing to Christians in the ancient city of Ephesus. He has been there several times, has served as their pastor for several years, and longs for them to experience the blessing of being a mature church full of truth and grace. We’ve studied the story of Ephesus before and our “truth and grace” banner is one artistic outgrowth of that study. First, Paul “implores” the Ephesian Christians to live out their calling faithfully as one because God is one (vv. 1-6). Over their history as a church, they experienced disunity and conflict, and Paul’s particular word to them was to urge them towards unity, not just as a remedy in itself, but because faith and the character of God is marked by that kind of unity. But note that it is not an isolating kind of purity and unity, but something that is to draw them TOGETHER as one. It is no wonder that Paul lands on one of his favorite metaphors for the Church: the Body of Christ. There is just one body and one Spirit (v. 4). So whatever else Paul is going to write to the Ephesian Christians about giving themselves to Christ as disciples and followers, it is rooted in them doing it TOGETHER. Well, it is not something they should or even can do on their own steam. It requires God’s help. And that is the good news Paul shares next! God has given them gracious gifts to accomplish calling together: God has given Christ for salvation and leaders who equip them to serve Christ together (vv. 7-13). Paul describes what that looks like with a continuation of his body metaphor. It looks like “growing up” from childhood to maturity. Just as the parts of the body grow in strength, coordination, and function from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood, so too does the Church as believers live out their calling (obeying God) and increasingly work and live and serve together as followers of Christ (vv. 14-16). God has saved us and desires for us to FOLLOW CHRIST TOGETHER. That’s what the Church does; that’s what the Church is. It’s the Body of Christ and Christ is the head. There is much time and space between us and Ephesus in the 1st century. But while the centuries have passed and cultures have changed, I can’t think of anything in these 16 verses that doesn’t apply to us as the Church today. This is all core theological truth that cuts across time and culture. It is rooted in the character and nature of God. What we can do is take these important but generalized truths and think about them more specifically in our own context. Be the church faithfully together (vv. 1-6) All that Paul wrote to the Ephesians about being the church faithfully together applies to us as well. It is not easy to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” in this day and age. Church so easily becomes one more extracurricular activity. It becomes one more consumer-driven thing, a product to market to different demographics: older adults, young families, young adults, white collar, blue collar, suburban, urban, white, black, Latino, and more. And sometimes marketing ourselves does result in growth… for a while, if you do it really well. But Paul’s model for being the church is of a different kind altogether. He roots church faithfulness and health in the one God – Father, Son, and Spirit. He desc

Sermon by: Robert Austell; September 24, 2017 - Romans 12:1-13 :: Sermon Audio (link) :: Click link to open and play in browser; right-click to save. Sermon audio is also accessible as a free podcast in iTunes. Search for "Good Shepherd Sermons" or "Robert Austell."  :: Scripture and Music :: Oh, How Good it Is (Getty/Townend) Lord, Whose Love through Humble Service (Bayly/White; arr. Austell) CHOIR: Many Gifts, One Spirit (Pote) Take My Life/Here Am I (Tomlin)   :: Sermon Manuscript (pdf) :: This "manuscript" represents an early draft of the sermon. Some weeks the spoken version varies more than others from the early manuscript. Nevertheless, if you'd prefer to read than to listen, this is provided  for that purpose. We are continuing today in the “Body” series, looking at the New Testament description of the church as the “Body of Christ.” Today there is a focus on the varying gifts and functions found within the body, which all work together for God’s purposes. It is a fitting passage as we ordain and install elders and deacons, but also a reminder that EACH of you who trust in Christ are part of His body. Each of you has a place and a purpose and a spiritual gifting from God. If you are doubtful of that or fuzzy on where you fit in, I hope that you will leave here today with clarity and calling as fellow members of this Body. Sacrifice the Body (how and why) (vv. 1-3) This passage starts with the overarching theme for the chapter. It is also where I got the title for this sermon: “Sacrifice the Body.” And by that I don’t mean abuse or damage your physical bodies. Rather, the first verse uses ‘body’ to represent our whole selves (and the passage will expand into talking about mind, body, and spirit in service to God). But it’s the image I want to focus on. In verse one, Paul urges us “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” What is a “living and holy sacrifice that is acceptable to God? Psalm 51 says that the sacrifices God desires are “a broken and contrite heart and spirit” – that is, a heart yielded to God. What does it mean to say “spiritual service of worship?” It means that yielding oneself if in this way is not just a physical or mental act, but an act of our SPIRIT and an act of worship. The rest of the passage is going to answer HOW and WHY to give ourselves to God’s service and worship, and all that will lead to specific examples and illustrations to help us flesh out this theme. HOW – Verse 2 speaks of the MIND, urging us to not be “conformed to this world,” but “transformed by the renewing of the mind.” CONFORMED is to mold to the shape of something else, like when you pour batter into a pan, it conforms to the shape of the pan. And the warning here is to not conform to the world – that is, the way of thinking in this world apart from God. Now I often remind you that Jesus prayed that we would not remove ourselves from this world, but enter into it. But he also prayed this same thing, that we would not so over-identify with the world that we become “of the world.” Paul is saying the same thing here. Keep your distinctiveness in Christ; don’t become indistinguishable from the world around us. Don’t absorb it’s values and priorities over those of God. He also highlights the need to have our minds TRANSFORMED – that is, changed. We are born into this world and grow up in it, after all. So, the natural thing, the default thing, would be to be conformed or shaped by and into it. So, God must change our minds, turn us around, re-shape and make us. WHY – And that’s just the conclusion Paul makes: when this happens, we prove (or demonstrate) what God wants for human beings. We become distinct (another word for ‘holy’), not out of, but still IN the world God loves. This is God’s “good and acceptable and perfect” will. (v. 2) Next, in verse 3, Paul cautions us not to think too highly of ourselves, but to think in a different way. T