Home » Uncategorized

Category: Uncategorized

Some of the Best Sermons I Have Ever Heard, Part 1

Jeremy and I decided that we would dedicate a few posts to sharing our favorite sermons, conference messages, talks, and movies. This post has links to ten sermons that made a big impact on my life. This was inspired by a post we came across HERE. Jeremy will have a list of his own. I decided to limit each speaker to two sermons. I could list dozens of Tim Keller, John Piper, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Jeremy Beck sermons that impacted me in major ways over the years. This list contains sermons by pastors who lived (several are still living) recently enough to be recorded on audio. The list isn’t in any particular order.

If you’ve got a favorite sermon you’d like to share, please do so in the comments.

John Piper, The Pleasure of God in All That He Does HERE
When I first heard this sermon, I was new to the idea of God’s sovereignty. And I was learning about this crazy idea called “Christian Hedonism.” That crazy idea would change my life. In this sermon, John Piper does a wonderful job of showing the absolute sovereignty of God in all of creation and the pleasure of God in all his works. This sermon, along with Piper’s talk, Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be?, helped lead me to echo the words of Jonathan Edwards: “Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God. But my first conviction was not so.”
Fred Craddock, Cloud of Witnesses HERE
Jeremy and I learned about Fred Craddock in 2018. I wish we’d learned of him earlier. During a phone conversation, Jeremy said, “You’ve got to listen to this ‘Cloud of Witnesses’ sermon. It may be the best sermon ending I’ve ever heard.” He was right. Craddock was a master of sermon endings. And the ending of this sermon is not only the best ending to a Craddock sermon I’ve heard, it may be the best ending I’ve heard period. If you want to learn how to end a sermon, study this man’s preaching.
John MacArthur, Making Decisions on Non-Moral Issues HERE
This sermon impacted me because my early years as a Christian were spent in a somewhat legalistic environment that majored on strict ideas about non-moral issues. MacArthur’s distinction between moral and non-moral issues caused a major paradigm shift in the way I think. So many arguments within Christianity happen precisely because we fail to make this distinction.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: General Consideration HERE
Spiritual Depression is probably the best sermon series I’ve ever read or listened to. Every sermon has moments that are pure gold. This introductory sermon is gold all the way through. In it, Lloyd-Jones unpacks what it looks like to preach to yourself when your soul is cast down. I can’t imagine my life had I not heard this sermon.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Christ in the Heart HERE
I remember reading this sermon in Lloyd-Jones’ book, The Unsearchable Riches of Christ. Based on Ephesians 3:17, MLJ asks the question, Since the Ephesians were already Christians, why would Paul pray that Christ would dwell in their hearts? MLJ’s answer – there are different levels of Christian experience. Paul is wanting the Ephesians to experience a new level. He uses a wonderful Spurgeon quote, which I’ve used many times in my ministry, to summarize the idea:
My brethren, there is a point in grace as much above the ordinary Christian, as the ordinary Christian is above the worldling. Believe me, the life of grace is no dead level, it is not a fen country, a vast flat. There are mountains, and there are valleys. There are tribes of Christians who live in the valleys, like the poor Swiss of the Valais, who live in the midst of the miasma, where fever has its lair, and the frame is languid and enfeebled. Such dwellers in the lowlands of unbelief are for ever doubting, fearing, troubled about their interest in Christ, and tossed to and fro; but there are other believers, who, by God’s grace, have climbed the mountain of full assurance and near communion. Their place is with the eagle in his eyrie, high aloft.
This sermon left me wanting a deeper and more intimate experience of Christ. I think of it often.
Tim Keller, The Word Made Flesh HERE
In this sermon on John 1, Keller does what he does best: He sets forth the glory of Christ in a succinct and clear way. He paints a vivid picture of what it means that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In taking on flesh, Christ became vulnerable, he became killable, and having done so, he empathizes with us. The story Keller tells about a surgery tech changing the way he treated patients after he became a patient himself and had to lay on the table is one of the best illustrations I’ve ever heard about the empathy of Christ.
Tim Keller, The Longing for Home HERE
Put simply, this sermon made me long for heaven and helped me understand myself better. I’ve been asked why I like Tim Keller’s preaching so much. One of my answers is that he not only addresses “felt needs,” he addresses needs that you don’t even know you feel. The feeling may be lying there almost dormant, then Keller puts a name on it and you realize it’s there. I am quick in recent years to say that I get homesick fairly often. I moved away from home fifteen years ago. But before I heard this sermon, I didn’t realize I was homesick. I felt it, but I didn’t realize I felt it. Keller made me realize that I felt it. I don’t think the word “homesick” is used much anymore, but I think those of us who feel it need to admit it. It’s a feeling we’re supposed to have, and it’s supposed to point us to our need for Christ and our true home in heaven.
Jeremy Beck, This is a Hard Saying, Who Can Listen to It? HERE
This is the sermon that made me ask Jeremy, “What are you doing?” It was powerful. It was biblical. But it was also art. Based on Jesus’ hard saying’ in John 6, Jeremy asks, “Why was Jesus so bold? Why did he show no fear of offending people with his teaching?” His answer: Jesus trusts his father so totally that he absolutely believes that those whom the Father has chosen will come to him. This gives Jesus boldness to speak the truth and demand that believers count the cost before they come to him. Jeremy reinforces this with a great chorus from the movie Whiplash. Every time I find myself struggling or slumping in the faith now, I remind myself, “The next Charlie Parker would never be discouraged.”
Jeremy Beck, Troubled to Comfort Others HERE
I vividly remember the first time I heard this sermon. It floored me. Hearing about Spurgeon hearing his own chains clank as he preached to his fellow prisoners. Hearing about a short story writer having to write about her biggest regret in life. Hearing about the purpose God has in our struggles. Hearing about how God comforts us in our chains and biggest regrets so that we can use his comfort to comfort and minister to others. Jeremy likes to say that God wants to take our greatest pain and make it our greatest ministry. He crystallizes that idea in this sermon and actually made me want to live it out.
Francis Chan, Don’t Focus on the Family HERE
This sermon made a big impact on me because of an illustration and an idea. In the illustration, Chan uses a story about a child to show the importance of active obedience to God that goes beyond prayer and Bible study. As for the idea, Chan points us to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:29: “From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none.” This sermon reminded me that as important as the life of a family is, it should never hinder us from doing the work and ministry that God has called us to do. It’s something I have to remind myself often.

Newsletter Going Out Today

We’re sending out a couple of big (for us) updates today. If you’re subscribed to our newsletter mailing list, be on the look out. There’s always a chance it could get caught by your email spam filter. So check there if you don’t see it in the next couple of hours. If you’re not subscribed to our mailing list, you can do so at the top of the page.

Crocodile Brain

In Pitch Anything, Oren Klaff stresses going after the “crocodile brain.” Allegedly, the three basic parts of the brain are the neocortex, mid-brain, and crocodile brain.

Proponents of this croc brain idea (or at least the ones I’ve come across) hold an evolutionary presupposition that this is how the brain evolved. The croc brain being the original brain of our earliest ancestors, the mid-brain forming next, and then the neocortex (which is highly involved in rational thinking).

I don’t hold the same presuppositions. I actually think you could use the basic traditional Christian understanding of the soul and come to some of the same conclusions about how the mind works. Klaff makes the point that the three parts of the brain work independently and together. That is, they are distinct but can’t be fully separated. This is how Jonathan Edwards viewed the soul. He presupposed and argued that the soul consisted of the mind, the will, and the affections. These three work independently and together. They are distinct but can’t be separated.

I make that point simply because Klaff’s main point is that when you’re pitching an idea, you should go for the croc brain as much as possible. I think you could just as easily say, “Go for the emotions or affections first” and get the same result. I’ve come to accept the idea that we rarely make decisions with reason/rationality first. It’s more likely that we make decisions based on our gut/emotions and then use our rationality to make arguments after the fact that we made the right decision.

Klaff’s simple description of how the croc brain operates is as follows. The crocodile brain is concerned primarily with boredom, danger, and complication. The croc brain says, If the idea is boring, ignore it. If it’s dangerous, fight or run. If it’s complicated, radically summarize it (p. 14).

If you’re going to make a pitch or presentation (or even preach a sermon) with this in mind, you need to remember the main points:

  1. People are going to ignore you if possible
  2. They’re mainly worried about the big picture rather than intricacies
  3. They will respond emotionally first, especially is something scares them
  4. They’re worried about the here and now with a short attention span that craves novelty
  5. They want concrete facts rather than abstract concepts (p. 16)

We want to use the intellectual mind to pitch and preach things with a lot of details and abstract concepts. But people will primarily pay attention to things that touch their emotions, deal with their fears, offer some type of novelty, and are more concrete/image-based than abstract.

While I don’t believe there’s really such a thing as a croc brain or a lizard brain (I’ve heard that term used of the same concept), I do know that Jesus, when he described the kingdom of heaven, didn’t give a theological treatise. Instead, he said things like, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.” So often he went straight to emotionally-loaded imagery and narrative rather than giving logical syllogisms.

Blog Update and Upcoming Posts

When I started the original Tides and Turning blog years ago, it’s sole purpose was to document things I was reading and studying. Well, I’m still reading and studying. Actually, I’ve been on a reading tear lately that rivals anything I’ve ever done in my life. I think I’ve read something like fifteen books in the past two months.

But since changing the name of the site a year ago, I’ve hesitated to make as many random posts. Plus, so much of my attention has been on my work as a pastor and on our book project, I just haven’t made an effort to set aside a lot of time for the type of meticulous note-taking I used to do on a regular basis.

With that said, I’m going to start making some posts on some random books I’ve been reading over the past year. Each year, I try to dedicate myself to studying one particular subject with as much depth as I can. Last year, my focus was on learning about writing. I took a couple of courses on writing short stories and read a ton of books on craft. This year, I’ve been studying Neuro-Linguistic Programming and principles of influence related to communication and sales. I even took a certification course in NLP. So you’ll notice some posts popping up about all sorts of things. Hopefully you’ll find something helpful.

But regardless, the notes I’ve stored on the blog over the years have proved extremely valuable for me. There’s no telling how many times I’ve thought of a quote that would go well on a sermon and then was able to find it easily because I had stored it on he blog. Thanks for everyone who’s stuck with me (and now us, since I’m not the sole owner of this new site) over the years.

A Counterculture of Christian Commitment

A Counterculture of Christian Commitment, by Jeremy Beck

 

DIAGNOSING A PROBLEM

My title is taken partly from a recent Harvard commencement address by Pete Davis.  His title was “A Counterculture of Commitment.”  I Initially titled my writing “A Counterculture of Church Commitment” but decided against it for reasons that will be obvious when you finish reading.

There are all types of battles raging within Christianity and I don’t wish to add to any.  Some are new and many are very old: Calvinism vs. Arminianism – Covenants vs. Dispensations – Systematic Theology vs. Biblical Theology – City vs. Rural – Mega Church vs. Small Church.

I pastor a small congregation in a small town and there seems to be a growing problem that’s easy to identity when you’re in a smaller setting.  It’s not impossible to recognize this problem in a larger setting, but I do think it’s more difficult to diagnose.

Just to preface, this is not an attack on large churches.  I love large churches.  I wish my small church was a large church.  I wholeheartedly wish that more people heard the gospel week after week and I selfishly wish that more of those people worshiped at our church.  Most of my favorite preachers come from large churches.  My Mother works for a very solid mega church in Tennessee.  Not to mention there is much to be said for large churches pooling resources to fund and accomplish what could never be done through small, individual congregations with limited resources and people.  I love big churches.

So, what’s the problem? What’s the issue that smaller churches can see more clearly than mega churches?  Well, it’s not that Christians aren’t as committed as they should be – because everyone already knows that, and every statistic for the last twenty years bears witness to that already.  And really, I’m not as committed as I should be to Christ and probably neither are you.  So, that’s nothing new.

 

THE ILLUSION OF GREATNESS THROUGH PROXIMITY

So, what’s the problem then?  What disease is more difficult to diagnose in large, “successful” churches than in smaller, “less successful” settings?  I worry that many people are skillfully hiding behind a veneer of their local church’s greatness.  Sure, you can do this in a smaller church as well, but it’s much more difficult.  So many people are hiding their lack of desire, lack of growth, and lack of fruit behind a façade of mega church growth and greatness.

In an article by Stephen Whitmer, he writes, “As a small church in a small place, you won’t have access to the illusion of greatness through proximity.”  When I read this line a few months back, I remember thinking that it was the most profound sentence I had read all year.  I shared it with Heath and he wrote a wonderful little post about it in June.

The illusion of greatness through proximity.  Let that sink in.  Look around and ask how much of this Christian fluff that we see is nothing more than people wanting to look great and feel great about themselves through connectedness to a large, well-oiled-machine of a church.  It’s profound because it’s true.  If going to a small church doesn’t allow you to have the illusion of greatness through proximity (because usually nothing in a small church appears that great), it must mean that if you go to a large church that having an illusion of greatness is at least a possibility.  Especially, if you attend a mega church in a mega city.

I would go so far as to say that many people attend churches that serve Christ faithfully, so they themselves don’t have to. Seeing your church grow and thrive.  Feeling that it’s “relevant” and engaging can at least, in many situations, make you feel better about your own lack of effort, desire, and results– “Hey, at least my church is wonderful and growing. I may not be growing. But my church is growing so fast that at least I know I’m a part of something God is doing.”  Growing through osmosis, so to speak.

“My church runs a food shelter and helps with homeless people.  My church has a fund for the less fortunate.  My church is involved with kids and teenagers and reaching them for Christ.  My church has a 24-hour prayer line.  My church takes meals to shut-ins and visits the sick.  My church has a program for evangelism.  My church has a program for fellowship and hospitality.  My church has a discipleship ministry.  My church is associated with foreign missionaries…” Take almost any of those statements, and I’m afraid that many people could add “…so I don’t have to” at the end.

“My church runs a food shelter, so I don’t have to. My church disciples people, so I don’t have to.” You get the idea.

This isn’t an indictment on large churches.  The problem exists just as much (or more) in small churches. Apathy in small churches is rampant – but it’s easily seen and diagnosed, and often challenged.  People are just as uncommitted, but they’re forced in some ways to admit, “I’m not doing anything towards discipleship…and I know it.” Or they’re at least forced to internally acknowledge the fact that they don’t help with foreign missions because they’re not really all that interested in foreign missions. It’s a problem, but it’s a problem that’s easily recognized.

 

WHAT PROGRAMS DOES YOUR CHURCH HAVE?

It’s a scary thing when someone asks me, “What program does your church have for ________________?”  Because the answer to almost all those types of questions is “We don’t really have any.”  We have many people in our church who serve.  We have many that are passionate about serving Christ.  But we have very few structured programs.

  • They help in serving food every week to the homeless and needy.
  • They take up food and supplies for the Way of The Cross soup kitchen.
  • They deliver MANNA meals.
  • They have served with the Gideons passing out Bibles.
  • They serve on Young Life boards and help raise money for kids to go to camp.
  • They serve on boards for orphanages in Mexico.
  • They serve with Habitat for Humanity
  • They take up love offering and gifts for families in need or going through tough times.
  • They offer meals when a family is sick or hurting.
  • They’ve paid large sums of money out of their own pocket to help pay off other church members’ school loan debt.
  • They personally support foreign missionaries both prayerfully and financially.
  • They write articles for the local Christian magazine.
  • They’ve personally hosted bible studies for inner city children at their business office and paid for the meals out of their own pocket.
  • They help teach kids during the summer who are suffering with addiction.

But programs? We have very few.  We host Young Life for Etowah County because several years ago they needed a place – I guess that’s a program – and we love them being here.  We have a Women’s Prayer Breakfast – I guess that’s a program.  But we don’t have very many committees and almost no programs.

So many times I’ve heard, “Well, I really like the teaching. I’m really growing in the gospel and everyone is super nice and loving and has welcomed me, but…”  I always know that the “but” means, well, there just isn’t much going on here.  Sure, I’m seeing the glory of Christ, I’m growing in grace and I feel loved, but…No programs.  Not a lot for kids.  I get it.

Sometimes this “but” means they want to do more.  But, that’s what’s so confusing to me after ministering for the past 9 years in this setting.  What is keeping them from serving?  When someone asks me, “What do you have in place for Evangelism?”  I always explain to them what I have personally done and people that I am currently discipling.  Then I ask, “What do you have in place for evangelism?”  Usually I hear crickets.

If you want to serve, there are plenty of opportunities.  Everywhere!  But it’s hard to hide here.  People in our church know who does the work and who doesn’t.  They know who attends frequently and who only shows up once a month giving recommendations.  They separate those who actually do the real ministry from those who only recommend that others do ministry.

I preach and teach and try and disciple a group of men, that’s pretty much my life.  In the scheme of things, their work (the people) totally dwarfs mine (the pastor) and they don’t even get paid.  Not to mention that so many tell me of how they took some of the sermon and relayed it to someone at their office who was struggling or needed encouragement.  They are true ministers of the Word, yes. But we don’t have any real programs, not really any to speak of.

But the only thing scarier than when I’m asked about programs is when I ask a person what they’re passionate about.

 

PASSION AND PROGRAMS

They ask me, “What can I do to get involved at your church? Are there any programs?”

Then I say something like, “We don’t have a lot of set programs. But if you could do anything, anything that excites you, to serve Christ, what would you do?” Then I offer, “Whatever that thing is, I will try to help you. I will do my best to link you up with people and support you in any way I can.  Just tell me what you want to do.”

Then they look back at me like they’re trying to figure out the square root of 47. They usually respond with something about a program.  It’s as if they want permission to serve.  They’re worried they might mess up, so it’s less scary if they just join into a program – even if they have no passion about the program.  Or better yet, they might just wait, browse a little longer.  Wait for the perfect opportunity.

I have even talked with men who wanted to work for a salary at the church and said, “If I could pay you to serve Jesus and you could do whatever you desire, what would you do?”

They usually respond with the same square root stare.

 

REBELLING AGAINST BROWSING MODE

I want people to rebel against this.  I don’t want people to rebel against big churches or small churches.  I want people to rebel against this false notion that because your church is big and successful that it’s okay for you not to have any idea how God wants you to serve Him or the people around you.  Rebel against having an illusion of greatness through proximity to a church, whether large or small.

In his recent Harvard commencement speech, Pete Davis said,

“I am sure many of you have had this experience — it’s late at night and you start browsing Netflix looking for something to watch. You scroll through different titles — you even read a few reviews — but you just can’t commit to watching any given movie. Suddenly it’s been 30 minutes and you’re still stuck in Infinite Browsing Mode, so you just give up — you’re too tired to watch anything now, so you cut your losses and fall asleep.  I have come to believe that this is the defining characteristic of our generation: Keeping our options open. There’s this philosopher, Zygmunt Bauman — he called it “liquid modernity” — we never want to commit to any one identity or place or community… so we remain, like liquid, in a state that can adapt to fit any future shape.”

I’m afraid that while large churches have done a tremendous amount of good, their (the church’s) successes are being felt too personally by people who are still in an “infinite browsing mode” as Christians.  This illusion of success through proximity has allowed massive amounts of people to feel they’re successful and flourishing as Christians despite lacking real personal fruit or growth.

In one sense, many American churches have been too successful.  The church looks so healthy and is growing so fast that many of its members believe they’re just as healthy themselves as individuals.  It’s like they’ve joined Tom Brady’s Patriots as bench warmers and then start believing they’re Hall of Famers because they won a Super Bowl ring.

We all know commitment is lacking in most churches and in most people.  As I said earlier, small churches are probably guiltier of apathy and a lack of vision than large churches.  But we’re forced to constantly deal with it in ourselves and in our fellow members.  My passion for evangelism is weak.  I’m not doing a good job with explaining our vision.  My prayer life is struggling.  I know all these things.  It’s right in front of my face – when you have less than fifty people you can’t hide it.  I must admit it and pray for help.  There are no illusions of greatness through proximity in small churches.  But maybe there shouldn’t be illusions of failure through proximity either, and that’s important.  You aren’t a failure as a Christian just because your personal ministry doesn’t have a committee and a Facebook page.

That is why my title is “A Counterculture of Christian Commitment” and not “A Counterculture of Church Commitment.” Because it really isn’t about church size, whether big or small.  It’s about Christians in Browsing Mode.  It isn’t about what your church is committed to – the church is just made up of people – it’s about what you are committed to.  Your passions and desires drive the local church’s activities, not the other way around.

Your desires and passions will ebb and flow.  One day you’ll feel like you’re going to change the world. The next day you’ll want to quit everything and never speak to another person.  This is normal.  But God can lead you where he wants you.  Follow your God-given desires and let him steer you.  But pick something.  Start doing something.  There are a million needs.

See what your biggest hurts are. Maybe that would be a good place to start your ministry to help others.

Do, by all means, serve in your mega church programs.  That is a wonderful thing – please don’t misunderstand me.  But don’t let that hide your lack of passion.  And don’t say you are passionate about evangelism just because your church baptized twenty people last Sunday.

Don’t get an illusion of greatness through proximity to a church.  Get your greatness from being in proximity to Christ.  Connect to the one true vine apart from whom you can do nothing.  The only truly great one who was despised and rejected and was seen as an earthly failure, so we could be accepted by God.

It’s scary to depend on Christ for your ministry.  It’s a fearful thing to depend on God and not on man.  But we know that he is working in us and will produce fruit when we depend on Him.  By His power, we need not be afraid.  As Pete Davis concluded in his address,

“That is why, in this age of liquid modernity, we should rebel and join up with a counterculture of commitment consisting of solid people. In this age of Infinite Browsing Mode, we should pick a…movie and watch it all the way through…before we fall asleep.”

Commit.  Quit browsing.  Force yourself to start serving.  Be counter-cultural and actually commit to something.  Be counter-cultural and quit hiding behind someone else’s ministry.

So, your ministry won’t have a committee.  Who cares?  So, it won’t have a website or 10,000 followers on Twitter.  Who cares?  Maybe your ministry will even be messy and have problems and struggles.  So what?  Our entire faith is built upon grace, not works.  We serve a God who says it’s not about how good you are, you don’t have to have a perfect ministry, you weren’t saved because of your goodness – you were SAVED BY GRACE!

 

PERMISSION TO FAIL

Do you still need permission to fail?  As writer and writing coach Tom Spanbauer so wonderfully reminds us,

“Most of all, at the beginning, as a teacher, I must give the permission to do it wrong. In the wrongness there is a treasure. If a wrong note is played long enough, the dissonance can become the speech of angels.”

You’ve officially been given permission to fail.  Not by me but by Him.  By His grace.

Don’t let yourself be fooled into believing you’re committed when you’re really only browsing.  Watch the movie.

_______________________

-Jeremy Beck serves as pastor of Covenant Fellowship in Rainbow City, Alabama. His sermons are available here at Recognizing Christ.

A Heads-Up for the Blog

Since I (Heath) started the original Tides and Turning blog several years ago, I have been the only person to write on the site. I have written every single post there and here at Recognizing Christ. Well that changes tomorrow. My co-conspirator, and longtime friend, Jeremy Beck, has written a doozy.

In the article, he deals with taking false comfort, and justifying lack of Christian growth, because of connection to a large church. It’s well worth the read, so I hope you’ll check it out when it’s posted. And we plan to bring more content like this to the blog as time permits. We are both swamped these days but are committed to adding content when we can.

The title will be, “A Counterculture of Christian Commitment.”