The Science of the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Week 1 of this series I preached a message called A Princess, A President, and a Lion.

The big idea was that our foundation needed to built on our only hope.

Week 2 I preached a message called Buzzsaws and Astronauts.

We talked about how our foundation is established in our true identity.

Week 3, last week. My message was called Big Cats and Small Dragons.

The point was that your foundation could be cracked by hiding sin.

So tonight, I want to bring this thing full circle.

What is your all-time favorite dessert?

Mine is definitely the fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookie.

I have a pretty epic chocolate chip cookie story.

Every minnesotan knows the name Sweet Martha’s, correct? They are the absolute staple of the State Fair every year.

Two years ago, my best friend Erik was getting married. He’s from Edina, but he was getting married in Chicago. Almost all of the groomsmen including me, were from Minnesota - and the wedding was happening during the State Fair. One of my other best friends, Sola, he calls me up since I’m going to be making the drive from Minnesota to Chicago, it would be epic if I brought with me some Sweet Martha’s Cookies for all of us Minnesotans to enjoy before the wedding.

So the morning I’m gonna drive down for the rehearsal dinner, I get on the first bus from Wooddale Church to the State Fair. I get to the Fair right as the gates open, and I make a beeline right for Sweet Martha’s. I’m in line for cookies at 7:55am, they don’t even open until 8:15am. I’m the first person buying cookies that morning, and I take my two buckets of cookies, put the extras in a ziplock bag, and go right back out to the busses. I get on a bus headed back to Wooddale Chruch at 8:20am. And I was the first person to leave the State Fair that day.

$8 bus ticket, $14 Fair Admission, $17 worth of cookies

But I would say…Sweet Martha’s are overrated unless they’re hot and fresh. After that, average at best.

The thing about baking cookies though is that every change in ingredient changes the outcome of the cookie. It’s like a science experiment. If you add more flour, you get a very different cookie than if you melt the butter.

The right ingredients in the right order, in the right amounts lead to the result you want.

I’m calling tonight’s message The Science of the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Luke 15:1–7 CSB

All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.

Explanation of what a parable is.

A parable is a story with a meaning behind it. And the meaning is sometimes explained, but sometimes it’s not.

Jesus loves to teach using parables.

There is only one way to rebuild a broken foundation.

The richest person in the world cannot buy a new one.

The smartest person in the world cannot invent a new one.

The only way to rebuild what has been broken is to repent.

What does repent mean?

The simplest way I can define repentance is that you are going one way, but you change your mind, and begin going the opposite way.

Rebuilding a cracked foundation is a science, like baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

You’ve got to add the right ingredients in the right amount at the right time.

So let’s start by looking at the ingredients of repentance, and then we’ll look at the steps to get us there.

Ingredient #1 - Proximity (vv.1-2)

(As much as possible)

(add right away)

Before Jesus even begins telling this parable we see two different groups moving in two opposite directions.

Group number one is the sinners. Not a very flattering way to talk about somebody right? But i think the bible talks about them this way because it’s true. These are the people who have messed up. These are the people with cracked foundations. And they know it. They aren’t trying to hide it or pretend like everything is great in their life. They have realized that the way they have lived their lives up until now has been against God.

I love how my bible says they were approaching Jesus to listen to him.

It’s the movement of getting closer to something.

It would be so easy for these sinners to move away and approach. They know they’ve messed up. But they want to come close.

Pastor Matt and I have been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis the last few weeks. There’s a quote in there that I think perfectly sums up what this movement looks like:

If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them

These sinners realize that jesus has what they need. They aren’t going to rebuild their cracked foundation if they move away from Jesus. They know that their only hope to rebuild is found closer to Jesus.

Group number two is the Pharisees. The Pharisees are a group of the religious elites. They have the bible training, they lead the synagogue gatherings, they have the power and the influence. But their movement is not toward Jesus. I would argue that their movement is away from Jesus.

My bible says they were complaining that Jesus was eating meals with the sinners.

Complaining is a movement away. It’s creating distance. They don’t care what jesus has to say, they only care about who Jesus is saying it to.

Two groups, two movements. But repentance is only possible with proximity. Proximity to Jesus.

That’s the first ingredient to rebuild your foundation, add as much proximity as possible and add it right away.

Ingredient #2: Pursuit (vv.3-5)

(Constant)

(Added by God before you even thought about adding it yourself)

What I love about this parable is that Jesus doesn’t say that the sheep goes missing, and then it has to figure out life on its own and then when things get tough it works it way back to the shepherd.

That wouldn’t be a very life-giving message. Trying to figure it out on your own, isn’t the Gospel.

The Gospel is that the Shepherd chases down the sheep.

Romans 2:4 CSB

Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Your ability to repent is powered by the fact that God is pursuing you even when you’re lost.

And when he finds you, he’s not there with a punishment in hand, he’s not there with a word of scolding, he’s there to pick you up, put you on his shoulders, and carry you home.

And God doesn’t wait to start chasing after you until you realize you’re lost or that your foundation has a crack. He started pursuing you before you even acknowledged him.

So let’s chat about what it looks like. We say that part of our vision in NXT is EQUIP right? I want to equip you so you can grow.

Here are the Steps:

Confess

1 John 1:9 CSB

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is the first part of repentance. And remember, this cannot happen without the power of God leading you into it.

Confession is naming your sin in front of God. And agreeing with him that it’s sin. That seems scary, but in reality it is life-giving and necessary.

Name the Sin - call it out. be specific. God knows it anyways, so don’t hide it from him.

Expose the Lie - at the heart of every sin is a lie. Satan is the father of lies. The lie might be as simple as “This sin will make me happy”

Remember the Truth - believing a lie means you are forgetting the truth. We all need reminders of what is true.

2. Turn

The second step in repentance is vital.

I call this the CAMP High DILEMMA.

Every year at summer camp or winter retreat, you have such an amazing and powerful encounter with God. You confess your sin and swear that things are going to change in your life. Sound familiar?

But what happens when you get home? Often you jump right back into the same sin.

In order to repent, you confess and then turn in the opposite direction from where you were heading.

3. Walk

Don’t just turn in the opposite direction, walk in the opposite direction.

Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters Poem

And remember. You cannot do this by yourself. Repentance is not natural it is supernatural. It is powered by God.

Conclusion

So in this series we’ve talk about building a foundation on hope, establishing it in your true identity, how to avoid the cracks, and what to do if you’ve cracked it.

You foundation is key.

My hope and prayer for you is that you would have a firm foundation build on the rock like Jesus says in Luke 6

so that when the storms of life come, when things get difficult, you’ll stand.