Fog of War; Burned Wk1

Fog of War

Burned Week 1

Big Idea of the Series: This four-week series addresses wounds that people experience from church life. Many people have been burned by other church members or church leaders, and the pain often leaves them confused, hurt, and feeling isolated. By exposing common problems like hypocrisy, gossip, and judgment, this series offers an overall message of hope, comfort, and reconciliation to those who have been hurt by people in the church. Using passages from the Pauline epistles, these messages encourage the wounded and admonish all believers that they can start fresh and be connected again to the God who loves them and the church he wants to work through in the earth.

Week 1 Text: , Corin 2:5 Topic: Church Health, Wounds, Forgiveness, Reconciliation Big Idea of the Message: Church should be a place of healthy relationships and love, but sometimes people get burned by other believers. Application Point:We should not give up on God because of hurts caused by other sinners.

Sermon

Intro.

1 Corin 2:5 NAS. That your faith would not rest on the wisdom of MEN, but on the POWER of GOD.

The church is made of imperfect people,

sinners who also sin against each other, and that means that sometimes we might get hurt by the ones who

are supposed to care for us the most, our church family.

At some point in our faith life, we will likely get burned by the church.

Someone will misunderstand, misquote, or mistreat us. We might be gossiped about, left out, or maybe even kicked out.

Which is also biblical BTW....multiple scriptures deal with inviting/asking someone to leave the church.

but no matter the situation be it misunderstanding or someone mistreating you it can leave a burn.

So I decided that I would not bring you grief with another painful visit.

2. For if I cause you grief, who will make me glad? Certainly not someone I have grieved.

3. That is why I wrote to you as I did, so that when I do come, I won’t be grieved by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you all know that my joy comes from your being joyful.

4. I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.

5. I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me.

6.Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough.

7.Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement.

8.So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

9. I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions.

10.When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit,

11.so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

In the 2 Corinthians passage, the grief caused by Paul’s correction was appropriate because it dealt with the Corinthian church’s sinful behavior. Both the sin and the correction caused pain, and the apostle wants to acknowledge and deal with that pain. When we are burned by the church or when we experience correction because of our own sin, we also experience pain. What Paul says about forgiveness and restoration brings us hope and a solution for all our hurts, even those caused by God’s people. Big Idea of the Series: This teaching through the new few Sundays will addresses wounds that people experience from church life. Many people have been burned by other church members or church leaders, and the pain often leaves them confused, hurt, and feeling isolated. By exposing common problems like hypocrisy, gossip, and judgment, this series offers an overall message of hope, comfort, and reconciliation to those who have been hurt by people in the church. Using passages from the Pauline epistles, these messages encourage the wounded and admonish all believers that they can start fresh and be connected again to the God who loves them and the church he wants to work through in the earth.

The church is made of imperfect people,sinners who also sin against each other, and that means that sometimes we might get hurt by the ones who are supposed to care for us the most, our church family.

At some point in our faith life, we will likely get burned by the church. Someone will misunderstand, misquote, or mistreat us. We might be gossiped about, left out, or maybe even kicked out. In the 2 Corinthians passage, the grief caused by Paul’s correction was appropriate because it dealt with the Corinthian church’s sinful behavior. Both the sin and the correction caused pain, and the apostle wants to acknowledge and deal with that pain. When we are burned by the church or when we experience correction because of our own sin, we also experience pain. What Paul says about forgiveness and restoration brings us hope and a solution for all our hurts, even those caused by God’s people. Big Idea of the Series: This four-week series addresses wounds that people experience from church life. Many people have been burned by other church members or church leaders, and the pain often leaves them confused, hurt, and feeling isolated. By exposing common problems like hypocrisy, gossip, and judgment, this series offers an overall message of hope, comfort, and reconciliation to those who have been hurt by people in the church. Using passages from the Pauline epistles, these messages encourage the wounded and admonish all believers that they can start fresh and be connected again to the God who loves them and the church he wants to work through in the earth.

With that we get to our first point.

With that we get to our first point.

1.If Not For The People Charles Swindoll said “I’ve occasionally heard fellow pastors joke, ’Ministry would be great if it weren’t for all the people,’”  We laugh at this joke, but there’s a reason why it produces such a reaction. Sometimes, it’s the people in the church, the people who should be caring the most for us, that cause us the most harm.

Truthfully the person who takes on the most pain and hurt in the church are the Pastors.

hear me out, For each person in the church there is only one pastor to target. Not to mention that the leaders typically speak to and help each person on an individual basis as well as pray for each person separately.

So the odds lean in that direction anyway.

*not my job to tell others that i know the ugly things they said about me/family…it my job to be there for them.

thats not to say the burns i have are any more severe than those you have..hurt is hurt.

But often people wound other people because their own wounds have not been healed. Child abuse is one key example of how hurt people hurt people. According to research cited by the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, A. 14% of all men in prison and 36% of women in prisonin the USA were abused as children, thats about twice the frequency seen in the general population. B. Children who experience child abuse & neglect areabout 9 times more likely to become involved in criminal activity. C. About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children,continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. In Paul’s letter today, he imagines a beautiful future, where our wounded natures can be healed and restored. 2. The Terrorist

2 Corin 2: 11.so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

In this passage,Paul warns that the devil is truly behind conflict and division (2:11). This is because Satan knows if he can destroy the church from the inside, it won’t be effective to reach people for Christ. 4. Unfortunately, many people associate wounds from people in the church with wounds from God. But church people and church leaders are not God, and we shouldn’t expect them to be. That’s a form of idolatry, and it takes glory away from God. We have to make the decision to stop holding God hostage for the sins of broken people. Hurt people hurt people. God is not responsible for other people’s bad decisions, but He does offer help and healing through repentance and forgiveness. Application Point:We should not give up on God because of hurts caused by other sinners. 5. “Life is full of people who ‘used to believe.’But because things turned out darker and  tougher than they supposed, they have decided that 'there can't be a God to let things like that happen.' But 'things like that' have always happened, to all sorts of people; even to Christ,” 6. “The wound in our faith—even a wound from the church—can be the occasion to harbor festering cynicism, or to cut off the dead flesh of hollow piety and reconnect with the God who is there. The decision is up to us. ‘Church hurt’ can be the occasion either for death or for rebirth; either for regression or renewal. That’s not to say it doesn’t hurt. That’s not to say it isn’t devastating. But let’s not operate under the myth that church hurtrequiresone path of retreat and isolation. Big Idea of the Message: Church should be a place of healthy relationships and love, but sometimes people get burned by other believers. There is another way, if we want it: ‘that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’ (),” 

In this passage,Paul warns that the devil is truly behind conflict and division (2:11). This is because Satan knows if he can destroy the church from the inside, it won’t be effective to reach people for Christ. 3. Not Guilty by Association

Unfortunately, many people associate wounds from people in the church with wounds from God. But church people and church leaders are NOT God, and we shouldn’t expect them to be. That’s a form of idolatry, and it takes glory away from God. We have to make the decision to stop holding God hostage for the sins of broken people. Hurt people hurt people. God is not responsible for other people’s bad decisions, but He does offer help and healing through repentance and forgiveness. Application Point:We should not give up on God because of hurts caused by other sinners. 4. The “Things like that” excuse

“Life is full of people who ‘used to believe.’But because things turned out darker and  tougher than they supposed, they have decided that 'there can't be a God to let things like that happen.' But 'things like that' have always happened, to all sorts of people; even to Christ,” 5. The Opportunity

“The wound in our faith—even a wound from the church—can be the occasion to harbor festering cynicism, or to cut off the dead flesh of hollow piety/hollow spirituality and reconnect with the God who is there. The decision is up to us. ‘Church hurt’ can be the occasion either for death or for rebirth; either for regression or renewal. That’s not to say it doesn’t hurt. That’s not to say it isn’t devastating. But let’s not operate under the myth that church hurt requires the path of retreat and isolation. Big Idea of the Message: Church should be a place of healthy relationships and love, but sometimes people get burned by other believers. There is another way, if we want it: ‘that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’ (),” 

Closing “Of a total of 615 battle casualties in the [Gulf ]War, 35 US soldiers and Marines were killed and 72 were wounded in 28 friendly fire incidents. Many Americans were shocked to learn that 23 percent of all our casualties in the Gulf War were from our own weapons,” All casualties caused by war are saddening—and we should all long for a world where there is no bloodshed—but those caused by “friendly fire,” the accidental engagement of allies or friends, are even more grievous because they seem preventable. The same could be said of wounds that take place in the church. We are supposed to be on the same side, the same team, even in the same family—God’s family—and yet we wound each other, sometimes to the point that members leave church or faith altogether. It is so wasteful, neglectful, and preventable. Church should be a place of healthy relationships and love, but sometimes people get burned by the church. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at what God has to say about “church burn” and learn how to comfort and welcome back those who have been hurt by other Christians. We will also consider how we can prevent more wounds within our church body