When Dreams Become Nightmares – Sermon Outline from Sunday, Oct. 7

When Dreams Become Nightmares

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10b, NIV)

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? (Matthew 16:26)

I.                   The American Dream

A.    What Characterizes the Greatest Hopes, Desires, and Dreams of Most Americans?

For most people, the American Dream has to do with a subconscious desire for achieving success and satisfying the desire for material possessions. It is the opportunity to pursue more than what we have, to gain more than what we have, and to meet success. We tend to measure our success by the stuff that we possess.

B.     The Pursuit of Immediate Material Pleasure

The love of money and the things money can buy is a primary or secondary motive behind most of what we Americans do. We want to consume, acquire, and buy our way to happiness—and we want it now.

II.                The American Nightmare

The American Dream has become an American Nightmare due to two distinct yet related illnesses that impact us both socially and spiritually.

A.    Affluenza

Affluenza is the constant need for more and bigger and better stuff—as well as the effect that this need has on us. It is the desire to acquire, and most of us have been infected by this virus to some degree.

·         The average American home went from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004.

·         Today there is estimated to be 1.9 billion square feet of self-storage space in America.1

B.     Credit-itis

Credit-itis is an illness that is brought on by the opportunity to buy now and pay later, and it feeds on our desire for instant gratification. Our economy today is built on the concept of credit-itis. Unfortunately, it has exploited our lack of self-discipline and allowed us to feed our affluenza, wreaking havoc in our personal and national finances. 

·         Average credit card debt in America in 1990 was around $3,000. Today it’s over $9,000.2

·         The average sale is around 125 percent higher if we use a credit card than if we pay cash, because it doesn’t feel real when we use plastic instead of cash.

·         Credit-itis is not limited to purchases made with credit cards; it extends to car loans, mortgages, and other loans. The life of the average car loan and home mortgage continues to increase, while the average American’s savings rate continues to decline.

III.             The Deeper Problem Within

A.    There Is a Spiritual Issue Beneath the Surface of Affluenza and Credit-itis.

Our souls were created in the image of God, but they have been distorted. We were meant to desire God, but we have turned that desire toward possessions. We were meant to find our security in God, but we find it in amassing wealth. We were meant to love people, but instead we compete with them. We were meant to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, but we busy ourselves with pursuing money and things. We were meant to be generous and to share with those in need, but we selfishly hoard our resources for ourselves. There is a sin nature within us.

B.     The Devil Plays Upon This Sin Nature.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The devil doesn’t need to tempt us to do drugs or to steal or to have an extramarital affair in order to destroy us. All he needs to do is convince us to keep pursuing the American Dream—to keep up with the Joneses, borrow against our futures, enjoy more than we can afford, and indulge ourselves. By doing that, he will rob us of joy, make us slaves, and keep us from doing God’s will.

·         Matthew 4:8-10    Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;  and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' "

·         Luke 8:14    As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

·         Mark 8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

·         1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains

IV.             The Bible’s Solution

A.    We Need a Heart Change

Although we receive a changed heart when we accept Christ, in a sense we need a heart change every morning. Each morning we should get down on our knees and say, “Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be today. Take away the desires that shouldn’t be there, and help me be single-minded in my focus and my pursuit of you.” As we do this, God comes and cleanses us from the inside out, purifying our hearts.

B.     We Must Allow Christ to Work in Us

Christ works in us as we seek first his kingdom and strive to do his will. As this happens, we begin to sense a higher calling—a calling to simplicity and faithfulness and generosity. We begin to look at ways we can make a difference with our time and talents and resources. By pursuing good financial practices, we free ourselves from debt so that we are able to be in mission to the world. A key part of finding financial and spiritual freedom is found in simplicity and in exercising restraint. With the help of God, we can:

·   simplify our lives and silence the voices constantly telling us we need more

·   live counter-culturally by living below, not above, our means

·   build into our budgets the money to buy with cash instead of credit

·   build into our budgets what we need to be able to live generously and faithfully

¹ “Self-storage Nation: Americans Are Storing More Stuff Than Ever,” by Tom Vanderbilt, July 18, 2005; http://www.slate.com/id/2122832/.

² “Credit Card Debt Statistics,” by Mark Brinker, August 2008; www.hoffmanbrinker.com/credit-card-debt-statistics.html.

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1 “Self-storage Nation: Americans Are Storing More Stuff Than Ever,” by Tom Vanderbilt, July 18, 2005; http://www.slate.com/id/2122832/.

2 “Credit Card Debt Statistics,” by Mark Brinker, August 2008; www.hoffmanbrinker.com/credit-card-debt-statistics.html.

You are so beautiful!

Every now and then I have songs that begin to play in my head. Now I don’t think that means I’ve lost my mind ( I hope!), I think it is just memories and old tapes that begin to play. One song that comes to mind every so often is “You Are So Beautiful To Me” sung by Joe Cocker. That song can inspire all sorts of images – how I feel about my wife, how I feel about my children, and especially how I feel about my Lord. The one thing it doesn’t conjure up is an image of myself. Now before you think that I am just being self effacing, let me say that I am not really talking about outward appearance. In our society, we tend to immediately judge people by their appearances. It takes us a little longer to get to know the character of an individual and see the beauty that God has placed within them. I always love the “what if’s” so here goes – what if we had a mirror that would reflect a person’s heart. Would you see something beautiful in the reflection of your own heart. The Gospel calls us to be reflections of Jesus Christ and his love for others. We are reminded of this in James where he says:  "... be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like" (James 1:22-24).

It is easy for us to say that “God is beautiful” or “Jesus is beautiful” and know that we are talking about that inner beauty of being and of spirit. As disciples of Jesus Christ, what is it that we see when we look at ourselves in the mirror? Is it that same beauty we see in him? If not, then why not?

We are creatures of habit and those things that we practice are those things that become habits for us. If we practice being “Christ-like”, then our habits will become “Christ-like”. As we develop the habit of loving others, treating others, accepting others, and seeing others as Christ does, then we become more like him. If we become more like him, then we begin to radiate a true beauty that is the reflection of him. Look in the mirror. What do you see? Don’t forget what you are like!

Central America Revisited – The Journey Comes To An End

As I write, I am sitting at Gate C14 at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport with a four hour wait for the final flight home. Yesterday we loaded our bags on the bus after a morning of focusing on preaching and then sharing in a powerful communion service lead by Kristin and Marta. We spent the night (and notice I didn’t say slept) in Guatemala City and then boarded our flights this morning. It is definitely a bitter sweet day. I am looking forward to being home, but my mind is still racing about the experiences of the last two weeks.

I continue to be amazed at the passion and commitment of the pastors in Guatemala and El Salvador. I finally asked Juan the salary level of the pastors in El Salvador. I knew that they often do not have enough money to feed their families every day. They struggle in being faithful in their witness and commitment to the Methodist Church, they have to overcome many barriers, such as being labeled as “Catholic” by some and “Evangelical” by others or a non-entity by those that cannot decide what they are. Their congregations are mostly poor and their resources for ministry – books, Bibles, Sunday School material, etc. – are even harder to come by. With all of these challenges, the pastors are paid the grand sum of $2,800 per year. In some cases, they have had to work without compensation until money is available which can be up to 12 months. Why would anyone subject themselves to this kind of challenge? It is very simple – a commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ and sharing His message of love for neighbor. These pastors have endured extreme hardship and persecution without complaint. They continue to witness to the love of God through Jesus Christ and the hope and promise of the Gospel every day. Their joyful spirit is contagious and their passion is inspiring. They insist on living in the same conditions as the people of their community, they minister to people regardless of background, behavior, status, or circumstance. I believe they are a model for the Methodist Church globally and we need to learn from them. The Wesleyan movement is alive and well in the people of El Salvador!

I pray that as I return home, I will be taking a small piece of this passion with me. I know that there are many temptations to pursue ministry that is comfortable. There are those that desire the easy and safe route and want to minister primarily to those that can provide for the church’s well being. This focus is pervasive throughout far too many levels of our church’s structure. As I reflect on this experience, I also begin to have a new appreciation for the struggles that Jesus himself encountered when he focused on a ministry to those the religious leaders had considered to be the “sinners” and not worth their time. This struggle can become overwhelming and it certainly it can be embroiled in controversy. I want to be faithful and I pray that the Lord will give me a heart and a passion that is consistent with the way, the truth and the life that can only be found in faithful discipleship. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”. John 14:15 “I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them”. John 17:26

Central America Revisited – Day Fourteen

It seemed that everyone was ready for this week to come to an end. There was very little energy as we started off the day. I am not sure what the difference is in this year and last, but there definitely is not the same energy in our group. Today we focused on liturgy. It was interesting to see that the Salvadoran church had very similar liturgy to ours and the rationale was much the same. Modifications to the suggested liturgy in the hymnal were mainly a result of trying to adapt to the particular characteristics of each individual congregation. In the morning we dealt with how we develop our liturgy and in the afternoon we designed a service in small groups and compared our design.

Since we finished a little early today, I was able to get home in time to offer to take my family out to dinner. We went to a nice restaurant and had a great meal. This experience actually put the family in the position of having to talk to me a little more than usual. By the time we got back to the house, they wanted me to stay in the living room and talk some more. I guess they really didn’t think I could speak that much Spanish so it may be that they were avoiding me a little bit. They asked several times if I was coming back next year and if so when. We all took pictures of one another and I shared a few gifts with them that I had brought from Virginia.

Tonight I began packing since we will take our suitcases with us in the morning to the church. We will focus our discussion on preaching and then we will celebrate communion together. After lunch we are scheduled to drive back to Guatemala City in preparation for our flight home on Saturday. This has been a great experience once again, but I am ready to get home.

Central America Revisited – Day Thirteen

Today we met at the church at around 8:30. We started with devotions and singing. When the bus arrived, we all loaded in and began our journey to San Salvador. We stopped at a historic site of Mayan ruins in Chalchuapa. Today must have been the field trip day for students from all around because there were children everywhere. They were taking notes and even asked some of the members of our group questions. We only stayed for around twenty minutes. About half of the group took advantage of the fact that a shop close to our bus was selling Saritas (a brand of ice cream). John and Craig have become the masters of finding Saritas in Guatemala and El Salvador.

When we finally arrived in San Salvador, the Romero museum was closed, so we went to the church where he was killed. The guide that presented his ministry and his death was very engaging and had all of us stand at the altar where he was killed and pray that God would lead us in the same way that God led Romero. She then opened the museum for us even though it was outside of the normal hours. The museum is the house where he lived across the road from the church.

We then went to the cathedral where they conducted his funeral service and visited his grave under the cathedral. One thing I did not learn until this trip was that his heart was buried in the garden alongside his house. There is now a fountain over the burial site of his heart. The cathedral is quite something to behold.

I decided that I would not attend worship tonight since it has been a full day and I am very hot and tired. I feel bad because Craig is preaching again and I wanted to support him. Flor is the only team member attending the service. Craig said that if the situation were reversed, especially since he is preaching the same sermon he preached on Sunday, he would not attend either.

I found out that Juan’s father went into a little panic last night. He had given me a ride to the church and then wasn’t paying attention to the time. When he went back to pick me up, Brian had already taken me home, but he didn’t know where I was. Brian told me that Juan’s father drove over to his house to find out where I was.

One little tidbit I picked up today was that only about 1% of the population in El Salvador is indigenous, whereas, almost 40% of the population in Guatemala is indigenous. I asked Juan about this because I had noticed that I did not see the indigenous people in El Salvador like I did in Guatemala. In Guatemala you see people everywhere in the native Mayan dress, but in El Salvador I haven’t seen any. Juan said that even the 1% live in the rural areas so we would not see them.

Tomorrow is our last full day of dialogue. It is interesting to me that last year we were in Central America for three weeks and I felt as though I could stay longer. This year we are only here for two weeks and I am definitely ready to go home.

(Posted after returning home due to no internet availability in El Salvador)

Central America Revisited – Day Twelve

Today started the same as the others. I tried to take a cold “shower” – I stand in the shower stall and pour buckets of cold water over me. If nothing else, it will wake you up. Roasaria had breakfast for me when I came out. Juan’s father arrived around 8:15 to take me to the church. Today we completed our discussion on homosexuality, addressing issues such as membership, ordination, marriage, etc. We then moved on to the topic of prosperity theology. It seems strange talking about this topic in a country that has so little and yet we found that our discussion focused on the blessing of God when we share in community. By this standard, the people of El Salvador are very rich and have been blessed greatly by God.

I find it difficult to ignore the struggles these pastors have in trying to minister to their communities. The Methodist church has many obstacles to overcome. The pastors have a gentle spirit and a servant mentality. This is a blessing to witness. I spoke briefly with Brian and with Juan about the possibility of finding ways to support these pastors financially, because they are doing great things with no resources. Volunteer in Mission teams come down, but this is only for construction. The pastors often have to go long periods of time without being paid and the pay they do receive is minimal at best. I pray that God will open doors to provide some significant support to a very committed group of pastors.

Tonight some of us attended the Aldersgate service at Nueva Jerusalen. It was a moving service with the youth involved in a play and then Marta, the pastor, reading from John Wesley’s diary on his experience that night. After the service we shared in some hot chocolate and bread. I had an opportunity to talk with one of the youth, Alexander, for a while. He of course asked me a lot of questions, but it was good to be able to share with yet another wonderful individual.

Tomorrow we are traveling to San Salvador. I don’t know all that we will see, but I am looking forward to the change of pace. Two days of dialogue is mentally taxing.

(Posted after my return due to the unavailability of internet)

Central America Revisited – Day Eleven

I now think we are definitely on Central American time. We were supposed to be picked up around 8:30 this morning and our dialogue start at 9:00. Juan’s father picked me up this morning at 9:15 and our session started around 10:00. It was understandable though because several Salvadoran pastors were driving in from different locations. It was good to finally get started on the dialogue. We shared in an ice breaker where we had to pair up with someone from the other country and share our name, where we are from, something about our church, and then something we have in common. Since we had more pastors from Virginia than El Salvador, some of us were in groups of three. Craig and I talked with Armando (or Armandito as some of the other pastors referred to him). It was interesting that all three of us have two children.

Our topic today was homosexuality. Today we focused on our personal experience with homosexuals and then later we were given specific Biblical texts to discuss in small groups. After lunch, we had the opportunity to meet Brian Dubberly, Director of the Salvadoran Mission Project and the GBGM representative to Central America, Alena (I didn’t hear her last name). They both shared brief introductions and then they left because they had work to do.

We shared our discussion with the larger group. Tomorrow we will be focusing on membership, marriage, and ordination for homosexuals. I think we all found this to be a difficult topic in that we all have hearts that desire to share the love of God and yet we come from backgrounds that have been very judgmental and rule oriented, especially in regards to homosexuality. The objective of our dialogue is not to come to conclusions, but rather to gain an understanding of one another’s perspectives. One thing we all shared was the conflict between our heads and our hearts.

It is interesting that despite our different cultural contexts, we all share a passion for sharing the love of God with everyone. The “rules” to live by cause tension and division within our churches and exclude many people because of the lack of love shown when the “rules” are enforced. I know we won’t come to any earth shaking conclusions in our discussions, but it is good to at least have an openness to discuss difficult topics within the church.

After returning home, I have spent most of the evening in my room. Dinner was ready around 7:00p.m., but after I was served, everyone retreated to their rooms. I decided it best to return to my room as well. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.

(Posted after return home because of no internet access)