Oh, what a weekend. We had faux snow in south Charlotte (the real thing hit north Charlotte) and so we spent much of Saturday deciding whether or not to have church. We ultimately decided, yes, normal schedule AND we're going to start the series "Creatures of Habit" as planned. I'm glad we did.  The decision honored those who braved the elements and made it to church, a fact that actually added to the effectiveness of the series launch. We were able to hand out the devotional guides that augment the series as well as show a video interview that brought the message home. The bottom line?  Emerging from the creative process in Genesis 1 it's: You have to go THROUGH the monotony to get TO the masterpiece.   _________________________________________   So we start 2017 with something called Creatures Of Habit.  And we do that in part because I know a lot of you make resolutions around this time of year.  And those resolutions typically involve weight or diet or fitness or finances or faith or relationships.  Many of you are here today, in fact, because one of your resolutions involved Sunday church attendance.  And a resolution is really a desire to turn an occasional activity – dieting, exercising, praying – into a repeating pattern.  An event that becomes a habit.                And the thing about habits – whether a self-destructive one like biting your nails or smoking those cigarettes or texting while driving or good ones like daily prayer, bible memory, weekly giving, consistent LifeGroup – is that once in, once established, they are STRONG.                Like let’s do an experiment.  Can I get a volunteer?  (Thread experiment)  What do we get from that, the first church experiment of 2017?  Activity?  Meh.  Habit?  Watch out.  So:  how can we leverage the opening month of the year to turn us into creatures of habit for good and not for ill; so we grow and maintain the kind of habits that give you emotional serenity, that protect your marriages, that send you to sleep with a clear conscience.  Do you know what a blessing a clear conscience at night is?!  And it doesn’t just happen!  It’s the result of a lot of little steps, the accumulation of habits, the transcendence of activities into patterns.  Now: we’ll get to dropping bad habits in a couple of weeks – it’s actually called Habit Drop! – because I know how easy bad habits are to fall into.  But today we’re starting on the opposite end; how it is we adopt, embrace, and live into habits that brings life. So that the force of habit in my life and your life really does reinforce a living relationship with Jesus Christ.               To do that, we’re going to go to an unlikely source in Scripture; a new look at an old word.  We’re going to journey into Genesis 1, the words that open the library.  Because look here at 1:1-2:   In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters   You know what that means?  That chaos was in some sense reigning.  And God creatively orders and arranges all the stuff of creation and assumes authority over it.  With a minimum of fuss and no battle (unlike every other ancient creation story), God asserts his authority over chaos.  Tuck that away.                And then, and then, this pattern emerges.  Let’s do this next part together, OK?  (We’ve had an experiment, we might as well have a collective reading to start the year.)   

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ 

And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

     WITH ME READING VERSES AND PPL READING “CHORUS”  See that?  You read it, after all!  In 1:5, 8, 13 there’s the routine, the repetition, the pattern, the MONOTONY.  Just so you know, the rest of Genesis 1 continues in the exact same vein, with the repeating phrase in 1:19, 23, and 31: READ those.               See, we come to Genesis 1 and we want to read between the lines of it and in so doing we ask all kinds of questions about dinosaurs and evolution and Jurassic Park.  And Genesis 1 is fundamentally not interested in those questions!  The inspired author wants us reading THE LINES and not between them and in so doing discover that Genesis 1 is more song book than science book.  Why do I say that?  Look look look look again at vv. 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31: And there was evening, and there was morning -- the _______ day.  Know what that is?  It’s the chorus!  The stuff between is the verses and this is the chorus.  It starts out as chaos and so God brings a chorus to bring it some order.               And don’t we ALL remember the choruses of songs even better than the verses?  Like this: Hotel California chorus.               But think of the sheer repetition.  Over and over and over.  Writing was painful, expensive work back in those days and so the inspired author of Genesis 1 REALLY wanted to make sure you got this and got it good.  That the creative process of God himself has embedded within it the routine, the ritual, the habit, the monotony.               Because look where all these verses and especially those choruses build.  First there’s 1:31 in which the human race gets created:  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.   Note the critical change – not just “good” but “very good.”  See!  You really are ALL THAT!  But even more, look at 2:1:   Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.   Look at that again:  vast array.  A vast array there has the idea of an army, decorated in full splendor, marching against its enemies.  Which, when you understand that this entire song has been an in your face to those neighboring religions who worshipped sun, moon, stars, & other created things, makes sense.  Creation is this living, forceful testimony to the fact that everything created depends on a Creator.  All that beauty, power, display needs the ultimate general at the helm.               See, it’s as if God’s looks at the majesty of creation – all of it from the farthest galaxies to the tiniest atoms (AV), from the telescopic to the microscopic – and says, “this is my masterpiece.  All the beauty, all the complexity, the immensely large & the massively small, all of that is my masterpiece.”  But note how he got there.  Not that the splendor of creation is the net result of all those (apparently) tedious and time consuming refrain/chorus: evening, morning, the 3^rd day.  The masterpiece is the direct result of the monotony.  The heavenly host comes from heaven’s habits.  So here’s the deal as we launch 2017 as creatures of habit:  To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony.    Yes!  That’s the pattern God built into the universe from the very beginning.  Genesis 1 establishes the rhythm of a week, after all.  It designs creation around the habit of a weekly Sabbath.  All the splendor comes from sweat.  The display follows the discipline.  It’s like God can only compose his song after first practicing the scales.  And it is as if he has hard wired this into the way creation works.  If God works this way, he has designed us to as well.  To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony.   See, a lot of people want the benefit of godliness – marriages that stay intact, consciences that are clean, the ability to address life’s challenges with serenity and calm – without the habits that it takes to get there.  We want to BE (or have or own) the masterpiece, the finished product without going through the finishing process.  We want the masterpiece at the snap of our fingers, not as a result of doing the same things over and over and over, turning our random activities into committed habits.  But a close reading of Genesis 1 shows how unlikely all that is.  Because God has loaded up the moments of monotony with his masterpieces.   What looks to be just a pattern of speech is actually a pinnacle in disguise.   To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony.   You know why this is hard for us?  Because we live in a microwave culture.  Newer is better, younger is smarter, and gratification is instant.  We get upset because the WiFi is too slow on an airplane!  Here we hurtling in the sky in a metal cylinder at 700 mph, completing in hours trips that took our ancestors months and we want access to all the information ever produced on planet earth and we want it now!  And when it’s not NOW, we get all EYE ROLL & HUHHHs.  Well, with that mindset and those expectations, no wonder we resist growing the habits that helps us live well and that enlarge our living relationships with Jesus Christ.   In contrast to that, I think of the people I know who have been sober for 20 years or more – in some cases, a lot more – and yet still go to AA meetings.  Multiple times per week.  Sometimes I’ll ask “why do you still need to go when you’ve proven you know how to be sober?”  The answer?  Force of habit.  The second answer?  Because if you get hit by a train, it’s not the caboose that kills you.  It’s the same with drinking.  It’s not drink #4 I’ve got to avoid; it’s drink #1.  Going to meetings is the habit that makes sure I don’t reach for #1.  To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony. .  It’s not instant gratification, it’s not a spiritual finger snap, it’s evening, morning, the 1^st day . . . and the next thing you know, there’s a masterpiece of sobriety.   Because as I look around this place, I want to unleash all the masterpieces at GS.  Like, some of you are plagued with anxiety and depression and you can’t shake it.  You know what?  You’ll NEVER be free of that without the habit of daily getting away and alone for 10 minutes of bible reading, reflection, and prayer.  Without that, you become a human DOING and human DOINGS are always stressed out.  You’ve got to be a human BEING for at least those 10 minutes a day.  It’s a habit, it’s not sexy, it’s not finger snapping or jaw dropping, but there’s no serenity without it.  It’s why we are resourcing you to do just that this entire month (Creatures Of Habit book giveaway).   Others here are plagued with self-destructive thoughts.  Almost like that young person who came to healing service with just that.  Mind had gotten away from her.  Well, in addition to praying, you know what we did?  Gave her Philippians 4:6-7 to memorize:   ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.     What did that do?  It started the habit of bible memory and, just as importantly, it replaced thoughts centered on death with those that bring life.  That’s what habits do – they eliminate what kills so you can germinate what lives.  Nowhere more true than with how your mind works.  It’s why part of our resourcing is a memory verse per week. To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony.    And then others find yourself withdrawing more and more in all of life.  Not into solitude – which is good – but into isolation – which is not.  Guess what?  A great antidote to that tendency is weekly, regular LifeGroup involvement.  It’s why we keep talking about how we want all of you in a LifeGroup and on a ServeTeam.  They’re not magic, you may find yourself in one you don’t like ( you can change!), sometimes you go even when you don’t want to!,  but we’re convinced they’re the best delivery system for a living relationship with Jesus Christ.  To get to the masterpiece you have to go through the monotony.   And then I know there are people here who can’t get out of your financial fixes.  The harder you work, the behinder you get.  Guess what?  The habit of generosity is the cornerstone of overcoming all that.  You don’t give to God when you remember or when you feel like it or when you have it, but as a habit.  Not to claim your blessing (!) but to follow God’s call.  And the more habitual it becomes, the more the rest of your life & finances fall into place.   Because in those patterns of what one pastor calls sacred sameness – prayer, bible, community & giving – there is the pinnacle of faith.  In what looks monotonous – evening, morning, the first day – is God’s masterpiece.  And yours.   Here's what it looks like in real life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phQDdJH3jM4&feature=youtu.be

I was really excited when these arrived at the Good Shepherd office yesterday.   What are they? Creatures Of Habit Devotional Guides. In English and Spanish. Written by the people of Good Shepherd, these guides are designed to resource and empower the very habits we are teaching about through the series.  We had similar projects around 2015's PrayFast and Preventology series. We have formatted the guides for daily use, with Scripture, Reflection, and Prayer part of each morning's pattern.  We believe you'll discover the routine of time away from people and alone with your Father will in fact be its own reward. We will distribute these at the close of worship on Sunday. Because why should we teach about something without giving people the tools to put it into practice?

Normally when a pastor says that he has something to confess, the people of the church think, "who's involved and how long has it been going on?" Well, thankfully, this is nothing like that. However, for this Tuesday's Top Five, I want to lean toward the transparent and offer you a series of seemingly unrelated confessions. Here goes: 1.Sometimes when I can't think of something interesting about which to blog, I go into my own archives and pull something out from the years 2008-2013, change a few words or alter the context a bit and VOILA! the day's blog is done.  Why do I insist on pre-2013 pieces?  Because that's the year I started copying these essays onto Facebook and linking to them on Twitter and with that enlarged readership I really don't want to double dip.  Interestingly -- some of the those brand new used posts generate the most Likes, Loves, and Comments on social media. 2. Each September, I say to myself that football is too violent, there are too many injuries, and watching it takes up too much of my time, and so I will no longer watch.  And that's a vow I never keep. 3. Sometimes when a conversation reaches a lull, I'll say, "Did you know my mom is 101, still takes care of herself, and only recently stopped driving and playing tennis?" That always livens things back up. 4. I could eat Bob Evans Microwave Mashed Potatoes for dinner every night.  And I could eat spoonsful of Nutella for dessert every night as well. 5. The following quirks remain essential parts of my daily & weekly routine:  1) I wear two pair of socks to work every day -- a pair of white Thor Los underneath to keep my feet warm and then dark dress socks on top to look professional; 2) I have never let the gas gauge on my 2009 Nissan Maxima go below 1/2; 3) When I shave in the afternoon (for the second time), it's like starting the day all over again.

The calendar threw a curveball at pastors this year by making both Christmas and New Year's fall on a Sunday. So we obviously could not use the first Sunday of 2017 to start a new series, as you want to do that on a high attendance Sunday. Instead, I decided to continue God Drops into the first Sunday of the new year by playing off the obvious metaphor of the Times Square New Year's Ball and its midnight drop. How do you live after the ball drops? Most of the time, you'd expect a message on turning resolve into results, on making resolutions into habits, on something about the future. But I didn't want that cliché.  Instead of looking ahead,  I wanted to exhort the people of the church to anchor from behind.  I wanted to remind them that our faith is rooted in history, not philosopy, and it's a history that grows in power with each re-telling. And pastor J.D. Greear's words formed the ideal bottom line:  Jesus was punished for everything we do wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that is the Gospel. By the way, for the first time in my time at Good Shepherd, our bishop came to church. Yikes!  I was nervous as a cat.  This is one of those messages where the content was superior to the delivery. So after the ball drops – as it did last night (and how about Mariah Carey's night?!?! – what do you do?  Isn’t it always the same?  1. Find someone to kiss (or awkwardly high five if you’re not sure you’re on kissing terms with one close to you).  2.  Make a resolution about next year.  3.  Have a moment of silence in honor of Dick Clark who certainly cheated Father Time but could not cheat the Angel of Death.  4.  Sleep it off.  The ball drop – not the same as when you “drop the ball,” which is of course what you do when you forget something – almost always signifies looking forward, planning ahead, resolving towards goals, charting a new course.               And so for those of you – we’ll call you the GS Remnant today – who trudged into church on New Year’s Day . . . you most likely expected some kind of message along those lines.  And so it might surprise you that instead of looking, charting a course, and casting a vision, I want to look back.  Yeah!  On 1.1.17, I want to look back, not so much at 2016 (RIP) but back back back to the origins of our faith.  To look at what many experts think are some of the first WORDS written in the New Testament, from I Corinthians (these are not the first EVENTS, those are in Mt Mk Lk Jn. The stuff in the Gospels HAPPENED earlier but were recorded in Gospel, written form LATER.)            And specifically, I want to look at I Corinthians 15, which if you were to make a Mt. Rushmore of bible chapters, I think it belongs on it.               Look at how it starts in 15:1:   Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.   Note:  remind.  I love that.  So Paul is taking this opportunity AT THE END OF HIS LETTER to remind them of the Gospel. And how did that Gospel get to them?  Did they figure it out?  Did they reason it out?  Did it come to them as a philosophy?  NO!  Because it’s rooted in history, not philosophy (as we’re gonna see), they got it by preaching.  Hallelujah!  Job security for PREACHING!  Then look at 15:2: ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.   So by that Gospel you are saved, meaning your eternity is somehow wrapped up in your response to history (think about THAT for a few minutes!) but then here’s what’s interesting:  “if you hold firmly to the word.”  So:  hold it.  Hold it tightly.  And this reminder, this encouragement to HOLD the word, the history, means that it is entirely possible to DROP it!  So after the ball drops you for darn sure don’t want to drop the ball of the Gospel!               Then Paul gets down to brass tacks, the nuts & bolts of what this Gospel is in 15:3:  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  How great is first importance?  This is it, people!  What I am fixing to tell you is not optional; it is foundational.  Of all the things about Jesus you have to get right, nothing is more important to get right than this.    Check 15:4: that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.  It says “was buried” because in that time most people would have assumed someone who was crucified was NOT buried – they were instead left on crosses for days where animals and birds would devour all the flesh and all the entrails leaving, literally, just the bones for the Roman gov workers to dispose of (and you think YOU have a bad job!).  But unlike almost every other crucified person ever, Jesus was buried, and to Paul it is necessary to tell us that.                Because that’s vital to his next assertion:  raised on the third day.  To be raised you gotta be buried and not eaten, apparently.  And then Paul piles on all the appearances of Jesus in the rest of the paragraph:     and that he appeared to Cephas,^[b] and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.   Whew!  I’ve said it before but hear it again:  the first importance stuff of our faith is NOT a philosophy you figure out; it’s a history you factor in.  What we do in Xnty is not follow a man’s teaching about loving neighbors and doing good; it’s about somehow uniting with that man’s gruesome death and glorious resurrection.  He invaded history as a precursor to investing in our lives.               So then skip to 15:20:  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  First fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  Do you know what that means?  That what happened to his body – resurrected, walking through doors ability, never to die again – will happen to the bodies of those who die in faith.  I tie that in with 15:3 & its gruesomeness.  Then 15:20 and its glory.  And then I remember this WHOLE SECTION is the Gospel.  The brass tacks of what is this “good news” that makes people come out even on New Year’s Day.  This invasion into history which happened once but has an impact for all people for all time.  Verse 3 he died for our sins. Gruesome.  Verse 20 he is resurrected as an appetizer for our own.  Glory.  This incredible symmetry: he took our place, bore our penalty & the result is we get the same glory he does.  So it’s like I heard:  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.  Yep.  God forbid we ever get too sophisticated, too modern, too forward thinking to anchor ourselves in that.  God forbid we ever spend so much time crafting a vision for tomorrow that we don’t REPEATEDLY look back to our roots & gain strength from it.  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                Listen:  we can’t repeat it enough.  We can’t recite it enough.  We can’t begin enough days with it or end enough nights with it.  It is the story that defines you, that redefines you, and it is a story that increases in power with each re-telling.  This is so essential because life crowds out the gospel.  But here’s what I want this series to do:  [VIDEO of clamor chaos crescendo which then vanishes/silences like at the end of “Day In The Life” making way for CHRIST HAS DIED. CHRIST IS RISEN. CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN.]   That’s it.  I want us all in awe of those events, that story, and to know that who I am can never be separated from what happened that weekend. This is not history as in the mere reciting of facts; this history, unlike any other, has enduring living power simply in its own re-telling.  We recite and re-tell the story of that weekend with any passion at all and watch the power inherent in it be released. Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                This is why we baptize like we do!  (AV of immersion?)  Because that’s what water baptism is – look at Romans 6:3-5:    ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.     It is the Easter weekend in a single, decisive moment.  United in death. United in resurrection.  United with Jesus.  Every time we have an immersion baptism here it is a collective reminder that newer is not better, younger is not smarter, that ancient weekend is the governing factor of my life here and now.  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                I have to tell you, though: at almost every level this Gospel Truth is deeply offensive.  Look at what it says:  Christ died.  That was actually a loaded statement in Paul’s day.  Why?  Because there were in the Corinthian church & other churches a group of people known as the Docetists which means “to seem.”  They believed that Jesus didn’t really die; it just looked like he did.  He just seemed to.  Paul’s words it that way as a direct refutation of that group; you know it offended them.  You know who it offends today?  Muslims, who while they like & respect Jesus also believe that he didn’t REALLY die on the cross – he either just passed out or someone else was up there dying.  “Was buried” – you know who that offended?  The early conspiracy theorists who were trying to persuade people that the church & the Romans were in alliance pulling off this great deception.               “Was raised” – you know who that offended?  The group in the Corinthian church who held that your body didn’t matter; it was only your disembodied soul that counts.  Paul’s like  “oh no, that’s not the gospel.  The gospel is that you’re getting a newer, better, eternal body . . . but it’s a body nonetheless.”                And this Gospel is offensive in today’s pluralistic, relativistic world because it says this is the ONLY history, the ONLY story that makes this impact.  Not Buddha’s history.  Not Mohammed’s history.  Not Krishna’s history.  Those may have some good in their news but they are not THE Good  News because those leaders ultimately are not God while Jesus is.  Goodness, it broke my heart to hear about the woman in western India who in the midst of uncertainty and anxiety of how she would provide threw her six month old baby into the Ganges River.  She said, “The problems in my home are too many and so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges: my 1st born son.”  No no no! God doesn’t demand your first born from you; he gives his first born to you.  That truth separates THE Gospel from all other faiths, beliefs, and philosophies.  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                And this Gospel is offensive to YOU.  To ME.  Why?  What does it say?  Christ died for our sins.  What does that assume?  That you and I are sinners in need of redemption.  To any among us who move blithely through life, assuming we’re OK, the Gospel says no you’re not.  We are not good people in need of a tune up; we are sinners in need of a Savior. God is good but you stink and you need a way out.  Before the Gospel is good news about Jesus, it’s bad news about us.  And for many, that’s offensive.  Get over the offense, acknowledge you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and love the Gospel.  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                While we’re at it, can I mention a well-known line you may have heard, one attributed to St. Francis of Assisi?  Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary use words. (AV)  That sounds so good and it speaks to our desire for integrity and subtle witness to the world, but ultimately it’s . . . BULL.  Why?  Because the Gospel is an announcement.  It IS words! Words that tell a story!  A story about a weekend and if we don’t tell it people won’t know it.  We want to live according to its truth and beauty but don’t put a false choice before me.  Do you share the Gospel with words or deeds?  YES.               The story needs to be told and re-told and re-told every day.  I don’t want us ever to get away from the wonder of telling it, hearing it, singing it.  Because it’s history that lives today!  It’s a story done and then told on our behalf. For us and for our salvation.  We’re never too “deep” or too “mature” in faith to hear it one more time.  You don’t ever get beyond it; you go deeper into it.  It’s history that makes you, defines you, and your response to that history determines your eternity.  So tell  it we shall.  Tell it we must.               Moms and dads: you especially need to be about this.  Even more than the principles from the bible – things like honesty, generosity, and chastity – your children and grandchildren need to hear the stories from the bible and of the gospel.  Your kids need to see how their individual story connects with God’s bigger story – the one of Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Aaron, Jesus and Paul.  Ground them in that story because power flows from it.  Jesus was punished for everything we did wrong.  We are rewarded for everything he did right.  And that’s the gospel.                So after the ball drops, we’re not looking ahead.  We anchoring from behind.  We reciting, repeating, celebrating, and even TASTING history. Yeah, tasting history … (Communion)