Untitled Sermon (4)

Intro and scripture

Philippians 3:7–14 NIV

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Pray.

Pretty much all I listen to is news, podcast or audio book and the only music is something Christian, mainly worship music. My son Luke has caught on to this fact. It is the last thing we go through before he goes to bed. I let him flip through my itunes on my phone. He clicks on an album and selects a song…almost without exception (unless he finds Tom Petty or CCR or someone I inherited from my dad) he finds a worship song.

The other night, he looks at me and asks, “Dad what is this song called?”

I tell him.

He responds with another question (there is always another question)....”Is this song about Jesus?” .....Yes.

Almost bored with my answer....”why is every song have to be about Jesus?”

oh great, my son is already tired of his preacher dad.

Allow me to project a little for illustrative purposes, but isnt this what holy discontent is? Growing tired of just hearing about Jesus, tired of doing things in the name of Jesus, but not grasping the Jesus the song is about.

What is worse is that as clergy, often times we are helping others to sing the songs about Jesus but missing Him in the process.

I have been asked to preach on refresh and I am convinced refresh comes with reorientation, with relationship, with recommitment to the one who called us.

This is where Paul is in the letter to Philppi.