Longest Post Ever

Fortunately, this doesn't mean that it will take up the most space, though I can't say that definitively right now. It is the longest in the amount of time it will take me to compose.

I was thinking earlier today (something that gets me in trouble often) that lots of questions get asked during sermons that are rhetorical, but are asked hoping the hearers will actually take the time to think about. I wondered what it would look like to actually answer every question asked in a sermon.

So I'm going to. Here is the project. I'm going to listen to a sermon I haven't heard before (titled "Cross Shaped Devotion" by Rick McKinley given at his church on 10/1/06. I'm going to then write down and, after the sermon is over, answer every question he asks during this sermon. To be fair to all questions, I'll answer everything asked, whether meant for the audience or not. It is a 35:07 long sermon so this post's written length will depend on the amount of questions he asks in it. Here's to my listening and responding skills.

Time to answer: 22 Questions

More guidelines, some of the questions were questions that the text he was using actually asked, I'll give the texts answers. Some of the questions, he then answers immediately, I'll note his answer. Some of the questions require more context, you'll find that in parenthesis.

“Is there any other way to save and reconcile the world and if there is can we do it that way; yet not my will but yours be done?”
This is a paraphrase of biblical text which God at least answers that his will is for "that way" (Jesus dying on the cross) to happen.

“What would it look like to bring the cross back to the center of our devotion?”
I was thinking, I don't know, I thought this is why I am listening to your sermon. In seriousness, I was curious as to how he would define both cross and devotion.

“Is it actually optional?”
I assumed he wanted an emphatic "no" answer, but again I wanted to hear him define his picture before I would answer confidently.

“What does it mean to worship Jesus with the cross at the center of our lives?”
I think that it likely means different things to everyone who hears this question. Some of these differences I think are beautiful and necessary as we all live different lives, but some of these differences are the result of a lack of biblical understanding or skewed biblical interpretation, which I think makes them ugly.

“The lines get longer because that is some kind of crazy magic trick, right?”
This was part of a joke where we had the ability to heal like Jesus did. Not really a question intended to be even thought about.

“Hey you want some more?” (disciples feeding people)
Another joke question as if we were the disciples handing out the food Jesus is multiplying.

“Who do people say that I am?”
Asked in Luke 9. Answered this way: "They answered and said, 'John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.' "

“But what about you, who do you, say that I am?”
Further in Luke 9. "And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.' "

“What do you think?” (asked to you in a spiritual conversation at work)
Immediately answered for us that "we follow Jesus and believe He is the one and only God"

“Now how does that conversation feel?” (referencing above)
Depends on your relationship with people at your work. Never was a problem for me working at the church with other pastors :)

“Isn’t that a bummer?” (That the deny yourself thing is daily and not just one time)
That isn't how I look at it. It is hard. But bummer puts a connotation that I wish it was the other way. I'm sure it is healthier for me to deny myself everyday instead of getting an easy ride for doing it once.

“So what then are we dying to?”
Simple immediate answer, ourselves. Specific to me, I'm dying to the need to be successful. Dying to the desire for more. Dying to selfishness, greed and pride.

“What does your cross look like, what is it shaped by?”
A very abstract question written in "Christianese" that I don't always find helpful. My cross looks like my burdens. It is shaped by the sin in my life.

“What is the shape of your cross right now?”
Same as what I'm dying to. It is shaped like pride, success, selfishness and greed.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
Asked in text by Jesus. Implied answer is that it is ZERO good.

“What good would it be if you had arms full of everything, all that you wanted, but at the end of the story you lost your soul, you lost your self? What good would that be?”
That would be ZERO good for me. It would even be negative good (is that possible) because I know that my life impacts others and if I made these poor choices I fear that I would cause others to, or at least not convince others to choose a more healthy way.

“If that day was today (that you were standing before Jesus) what are the things you would be ashamed of?”
The times I choose me instead of Him. The times that I "set my cross down" for a little while to pick it back up when it is more convenient. Sin.

“What are the things that are currently part of your story do you know would not be good to bring there?”
Again, pride, greed, selfishness, and desire for success.

“What kept him going?” (Jesus carrying his cross)
Immediately answered "That resurrection was coming."

“What is normative for you; is what is normal for you the fact that you are carrying a cross and being shaped by it?”
It is pretty normal for me to be shaped by this. I try to deny myself. I think about it a lot. Though I fail consistently, I know I am being shaped.

“How do we live this out?”
Imperfectly with all the effort we have.

“How do we do this together?”
Answered immediately by quoting Hebrews 12
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles u, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Nate's Concluding Thoughts:
I hate Christianese. Taking the time to identify and answer every question being asked forced me to lose track in the sermon multiple times, good thing i could pause and rewind. The questions that were truly important were asked multiple times, in multiple ways, which is a good speaking technique affirmed in myself by trying this exercise.

Lastly, I don't, I repeat don't, need another way to criticize sermons.