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Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Focus Your Faith on a Person Rather Than Piety (Phil. 3:1-11)

A couple of years ago the Associated Press told the story of Stan Caffy. Stan had met the love of his life and asked her to marry him. His girlfriend said, “Yes!” As the two of them began to prepare for the wedding and their lives together, they both cleaned out their garages. They didn’t want to have to move any junk from their current homes to their new home. They packed up all that old trash and took it to Goodwill—old clothes, bicycles, tools, computer parts and other things. One of the pieces of junk in Stan’s garage was a faded and tattered replica of the Declaration of Independence. It has been hanging in his garage forgotten for about a decade. He gave that to Goodwill as well. Days later a man named Michael shopped at Goodwill and purchased that tattered replica of the Declaration of Independence. He paid $2.48 for it. But Michael later discovered that this was no piece of junk. It turned out to be a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence made in 1823. What Michael purchased for $2.48 he later auctioned for $477,650. What Stan has originally treated as trash turned out to be valuable treasure. Sometimes we confuse trash and treasure.

Read More »Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Focus Your Faith on a Person Rather Than Piety (Phil. 3:1-11)

Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Recognizing the Joy Possible for People of Faith (Phil. 4:12)

 

What makes you happy?  Two years ago MTV and the Associated Press surveyed young people.[1]  They asked 13-24 year olds, “What makes you happy?”  At least two sets of answers were surprising.  The first surprise has to do with what 13-24 year olds said makes them most happy.  What makes 13-24 year olds the most happy?  They said it was this: spending time with family.  Over 70% said spending time with family is what makes them happiest.  A second surprise had to do with what 13-24 year olds said does not make them happy.  What does not make 13-24 year olds happy?  They said it was this: sex.  Despite all of the pressure in our culture to be sexually active, young people said having sex does not contribute to happiness.

Read More »Can’t Get No Satisfaction? Recognizing the Joy Possible for People of Faith (Phil. 4:12)

Every Knee Will Bow Because of the Open-Handed Christ (Phil. 2:1-11)

The Monday after Easter, Newsweek magazine ran this headline article: “The End of Christian America.”  The article revolved around two recent findings.  First, the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990.  The number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990.  Second, the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Christians has dropped by ten percentage points since 1990.  The percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Christians has dropped by ten percentage points since 1990.  In other words, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans who have no religious affiliation.  And there has been a significant decrease in the number of Americans who do affiliate themselves with Christianity.  It is for this reason that the article is entitled “The End of Christian American.”  The article’s point is simple: There are many people with little or no affiliation with Jesus. 

Read More »Every Knee Will Bow Because of the Open-Handed Christ (Phil. 2:1-11)