EVERYBODY'S CHURCH WEBSITE
  • Home
  • Info
    • Need Help?
    • Mission
    • Welcoming
    • Inclusion
    • Community
    • Why I Go to Everybody's Church
    • Become a Member
    • Our Vision >
      • Jesus Christ >
        • Celebrating
      • Reaching
      • Serving
      • Connecting
      • Growing
    • map and directions
    • Our Staff
    • Staff Contact Information
    • Job Openings
    • Funeral Information
    • Church Leadership
    • What to Expect FAQs
    • COVID Masking Policy
    • Building Use Fees
    • Baptism
    • Communion
    • In the Presence of the Holy
    • Presbyterian Church USA
    • Our Stained Glass Windows
    • The Presbytery of Detroit
    • Community Resources
    • Contact
  • Worship
    • church at home, livestream
    • Recent Sermons
    • Bulletins
    • Worship Schedule
    • Easter Services
    • Maundy Thursday Worship
    • Good Friday Worship
    • Rejoicing Spirits Worship
    • Music Ministries >
      • Children's Choir
  • Serve
    • Mission Opportunities
    • Yucatan Peninsula Mission (YPM) Trip
    • Deacons
    • Volunteer Opportunities at FPC
    • Learn about Foster Care
    • Mission Funding
    • Our Efforts to Serve the Least
    • Alcott School Ministry
    • International Missions >
      • Kenya Mission Trip Story
      • Faith Kasoni - Kenya
      • Chang-Lopez
    • Local Missions >
      • Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care
    • In Our Church >
      • Deacons
      • Memorial Service Help
    • Stephen Ministry
    • Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care
    • Mission Videos
  • Learn
    • Matthew 25 >
      • Matthew 25 Events >
        • Listen - Matthew 25
        • Learn - Matthew 25
        • Lean In - Matthew 25
    • Children's and Family Ministries >
      • Resources re: Racism
      • Five Part Story
      • Worship Wonder
      • CrossWalks
      • Faith at Home Resources
      • Sacraments
      • Build a Bible For Kids
      • Milestones for Children
      • Inclusion Videos
    • Youth Ministries
    • Spiritual Practices
    • Education Videos >
      • Five Women Five Journeys
      • Health and Wellness
      • Theologian in Residence
      • Teacher Training Videos
      • Sacraments Videos
      • Bus Training Video
      • Children's Ministry
    • Adult Faith Formation >
      • Church History 101 >
        • The Jesus Community
        • The Church Expands
        • Constantine to the Reformation
        • The Reformation
        • The Church in America
      • Revelation Bible Study
      • Christian Faith Foundation
      • The Gospel of John >
        • Introduction
        • The Book of Signs >
          • John 1:1-18
      • Genesis Bible Study >
        • Genesis Chapters 1-11
        • Genesis Chapters 12-25
        • Genesis Chapters 26-36
        • Genesis Chapters 37-50
      • Exodus Bible Study >
        • Exodus 1-15
        • Exodus 16-23
      • John Calvin For Everyone
      • What is a Presbyterian Video Series
      • Two Year Bible Trek
      • Immigration Information
      • Faith Formation Groups
      • Fellowship and Ministry Groups
      • Classes and Events
    • Hand in Hand Early Learning Center
    • Belhar Confession
    • All Abilities Inclusion Ministry
    • Disability Inclusion Resources
  • Events
    • Holy Week
    • 24-Hour Prayer Vigil
    • Senior Adventures
    • Concerts at First
    • Vacation Bible Camp
    • Lunch and Learn
    • New Member Event
    • SAIL event
    • Calendar
  • News
    • Email Sign-up
    • First Things
  • Connect
    • Inclusive Communities Network
    • SAIL Solutions for Adult Independent Living
    • Faith Formation Groups
  • App/Members' Portal
  • Give
    • Contribute to FPC
    • Stewardship
    • 2023 Pledge Form
    • 2022 Financial Review
    • Community Rewards Programs >
      • Kroger Sign up/Re-register
      • Link to AmazonSmile
    • Deacons
    • First Foundation >
      • Donating
      • Grant Requests
      • Serving the World
      • History

The Perfect Season: Being Kingdom People

3/2/2015

 
Rev. Dr. John Judson
February 22, 2015

Listen
Print Version


Isaiah 42:5-9, Matthew 5:1-16

We begin today with a quiz.  And the quiz is what do these football teams have in common?  And by the way this is a Michigan quiz.  The 1904 Michigan Wolverines, the 1913 Michigan State Spartans, the 1925 Eastern Michigan Hurons, the 1913 Western Michigan Broncos and the 1918 Central Michigan Chippewas.  The answer is that they all had the perfect season.  They were all undefeated.  Now for those of you who are statewide football fans, each of those schools had at least two more perfect seasons.  All of which is rather remarkable considering how difficult it is to accomplish that feat.  Yet, the perfect season is what every team hopes to accomplish before the season begins.  And in some ways it is what all of us hope to achieve in every area of our lives.  In school we want the perfect 4.0 season.  In business we want the “this year’s sales and profits are better than last year’s” perfect season.  With our children we want the “they are happy and healthy” season.  And there is nothing wrong with this because we are supposed to strive for the perfect season.

I say this because, as Protestants, we believe that we ought to pursue excellence in all things.  We are to do so because it means that we are fully using the gifts that God has given us.  This is what Presbyterians believed in educating everyone. This is why Presbyterians started colleges and universities.  This is why we produce so many leaders in a variety of fields, because we believe that all human beings ought to pursue excellence in their lives.  The problem with this pursuit however is we human beings often lose sight of the pursuit and instead focus on the prize, the perfect season.  And in so doing, we risk any hope of truly having the perfect season.  How so…let me give you a name, Lance Armstrong.  Lance Armstrong was a great cyclist.  His metabolism and physical gifts were extraordinary.  He was always pursuing the perfect season…victory at the Tour de France.   Yet somewhere along the way, the prize became more important than the pursuit.  He cheated, lied and even sued people who challenged him. He was willing to sell his soul for the prize.

This is the human condition.  It is the tendency to confuse pursuing excellence with the prize itself.  We see this in businesses overstating their earnings in order to drive up share prices.  We see this in Little League baseball teams that cheat by recruiting ineligible players.  We see this in students at the Naval Academy who cheat on their ethics exams.  We see this in television anchors who create fictional events in order to bolster their reputations.  We see this in children, youth and parents who confuse excellence with perfection, which is so often seen as the prize…and they are not the same.  Yesterday I was visiting with Hank Borchardt who related a story to me about this that he thought would help me, and here it is.  For those of you who may not know, Hank was a long time sailor.  At one regatta he was on the dock when a group of 9-10 year olds finished their race.  Hank watched as a boy, who had finished fifth out of 35 boats, was approached by his father who said, “We spent good money on your lessons and this boat and all you can do is finish fifth?”  This is complete focus on the prize and not the pursuit.  The question then becomes how can we insure that we do not lose focus?

I believe the answer is to practice the virtues of kingdom people, the virtues of those people who are part of the kingdom that God is bringing to earth in and through Jesus the Christ.  By practicing kingdom virtues we become reoriented to what truly matters in life.  The virtues are like a compass which points us to true north.  And where do we find these virtues?  One place where we can find them is in the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes are, as N.T. Wright puts it, “…a summons to live in the present in the way that will make sense in God’s promised future (God’s kingdom); because that future has arrived in the present in Jesus of Nazareth.” (Matthew for Everyone: Part One, pg 38).  In other words, the Beatitudes shape us into particular kinds of people who live in a particular way; a way which corresponds to God’s kingdom rule and reign in the world.  We become kingdom people living kingdom lives.  If we allow these virtues to guide us, then we will be rooted and grounded in the kingdom in such a way that the temptation to confuse the prize with the pursuit will be greatly lessened.  

So what does a kingdom life as defined by the Beatitudes look like?  The easiest way to find out is to take a quick, and I mean a very quick tour through the Beatitudes.  I realize that while this is doing a bit of a disservice to them, it will allow us to catch a glimpse of what the kingdom life looks like.  So here we go.  

The poor in Spirit are those who know that they are not spiritually self-sufficient and thus are in need of God’s presence and guidance.  Those who mourn are those who take upon themselves the hurt of the world.  They mourn not only for themselves but for the world around them as it hurts.  The meek are those who stand firm in their faith but do not dominate others.  They know that they do not have to have their own way in all things.  Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who work for justice in the world. They are those who provide a voice for the voiceless and seek to empower the powerless.  The merciful are those who see the needs of the world around them and offer help where and when they can.  They see the best in people and are willing to forgive and show kindness to those others would pass by.  The pure in heart are those who have oriented their lives to God and have worked at casting out hate, fear and prejudice.  The peacemakers are those who build bridges between people who are estranged because of any reason.  Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake are those who are willing to stand for the love of God regardless of the outcome.

Jesus expands on these images of what kingdom people ought to look like with two often overused, yet seldom fully appreciated images. The first is that of salt.  Kingdom people are the salt of the earth.  In our normal lingo salt of the earth means sort of down to earth, average Joe kind of people.  But here it means that kingdom people are to be those who are to strive to keep the world from going bad just as salt was used to keep food from going bad.  We are to be the preservative that keeps the world looking and acting like it ought to look if God is in charge.  The second image Jesus offers is that of light to the world.  This is a theme which Jesus picked up from Isaiah.  The kingdom people are to be those who shine God’s light on those places in the world where darkness reigns.  We are to be those who show people the way to full and abundant life.  We are to show them what excellence looks like so that they too can be kingdom people.

All of this being said, this vision of being Kingdom people runs up against one of the great controlling myths of the world which is, in this world one cannot reach the prize of the perfect season while at the same time being kingdom people.  Instead one has to be ruthless because this is a cut-throat, dog eat dog kind of world.  One of the most often refrains I have heard over the years is, “I cannot afford to be a Christian out in the business world.”  I would argue just the opposite, and if for no other reason than what all of you demonstrate. Over the past six years I have come to know many of you…and some of you rather well.  And what I have seen is that you are able to both strive for excellence in a multiplicity of ways, and at the same time live as Kingdom people; being salt and light to the world and making a positive difference in God’s creation.  

That being said, I want to challenge you to pursue the kingdom virtues found in the Beatitudes.  In general, I challenge you to pursue them all.  Specifically I challenge you to choose one of the Beatitudes and make it a focus of your living during Lent.  Whether it is a striving to be more merciful or to work for justice, I challenge you to choose one and pursue it with excellence, knowing that in so doing it will ground you as a kingdom person now and always.  Oh, and then either email me so I know which you are pursuing or put it on our Facebook page so others can be encouraged by your pursuit of kingdom excellence.


Comments are closed.

    Subscribe by Email

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Categories

    All
    Alive In A Global Uprising
    Alive In God's Creation
    Alive In The Spirit Of God
    Alive In The Story Of Jesus
    Alleluia People
    An Abundance Attitude
    Being God's People
    Being Human
    Claiming Our Identity
    Discipleship Defined
    Do You Hear What I Hear
    Encouragement Along The Way
    Giving From The Heart
    God's Imperfect Family
    Growing Our Faith
    Living In Ordinary Time
    Luke Looks At Money
    Matthew 25
    Mourning Mystery Mission
    New Beginnings
    On The Job Training
    Own Your Hope
    Pentecost
    People Get Ready
    Praying Like Jesus
    Rooted And Grounded In Love
    The Children Of God
    The Five Part Story
    The Force Is Awakening
    The Heart Of The Matter
    The Lord Is Our Shepherd
    The Mighty Acts Of God
    The Perfect Season
    The Vocabulary Of Faith
    The Voice Our Choice
    The Voice - Our Choice
    We Make The Road By Walking
    Youth Sunday

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    RSS Feed

First Presbyterian Church
Phone:  248-644-2040
Fax:       248-644-8047
Email:    contact@everybodyschurch.org
Address: 1669 W. Maple, Birmingham, MI 48009
Hand in Hand Early Learning Center
Phone:   248-644-2040 ext. 124
Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care
FAR Therapeutic Arts and Recreation 
Phone:   248-646-3347
Presbytery of Detroit


Presbyterian Church USA
​
More Light Presbyterians
​
Skyline Camp and Conference Center
Phone: 248-644-2043 (Birmingham Office)
             810-798-8240 (Almont Campus)
Samaritan Counseling Center
Phone: 248-474-4701
  • Home
  • Info
    • Need Help?
    • Mission
    • Welcoming
    • Inclusion
    • Community
    • Why I Go to Everybody's Church
    • Become a Member
    • Our Vision >
      • Jesus Christ >
        • Celebrating
      • Reaching
      • Serving
      • Connecting
      • Growing
    • map and directions
    • Our Staff
    • Staff Contact Information
    • Job Openings
    • Funeral Information
    • Church Leadership
    • What to Expect FAQs
    • COVID Masking Policy
    • Building Use Fees
    • Baptism
    • Communion
    • In the Presence of the Holy
    • Presbyterian Church USA
    • Our Stained Glass Windows
    • The Presbytery of Detroit
    • Community Resources
    • Contact
  • Worship
    • church at home, livestream
    • Recent Sermons
    • Bulletins
    • Worship Schedule
    • Easter Services
    • Maundy Thursday Worship
    • Good Friday Worship
    • Rejoicing Spirits Worship
    • Music Ministries >
      • Children's Choir
  • Serve
    • Mission Opportunities
    • Yucatan Peninsula Mission (YPM) Trip
    • Deacons
    • Volunteer Opportunities at FPC
    • Learn about Foster Care
    • Mission Funding
    • Our Efforts to Serve the Least
    • Alcott School Ministry
    • International Missions >
      • Kenya Mission Trip Story
      • Faith Kasoni - Kenya
      • Chang-Lopez
    • Local Missions >
      • Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care
    • In Our Church >
      • Deacons
      • Memorial Service Help
    • Stephen Ministry
    • Faith Communities Coalition on Foster Care
    • Mission Videos
  • Learn
    • Matthew 25 >
      • Matthew 25 Events >
        • Listen - Matthew 25
        • Learn - Matthew 25
        • Lean In - Matthew 25
    • Children's and Family Ministries >
      • Resources re: Racism
      • Five Part Story
      • Worship Wonder
      • CrossWalks
      • Faith at Home Resources
      • Sacraments
      • Build a Bible For Kids
      • Milestones for Children
      • Inclusion Videos
    • Youth Ministries
    • Spiritual Practices
    • Education Videos >
      • Five Women Five Journeys
      • Health and Wellness
      • Theologian in Residence
      • Teacher Training Videos
      • Sacraments Videos
      • Bus Training Video
      • Children's Ministry
    • Adult Faith Formation >
      • Church History 101 >
        • The Jesus Community
        • The Church Expands
        • Constantine to the Reformation
        • The Reformation
        • The Church in America
      • Revelation Bible Study
      • Christian Faith Foundation
      • The Gospel of John >
        • Introduction
        • The Book of Signs >
          • John 1:1-18
      • Genesis Bible Study >
        • Genesis Chapters 1-11
        • Genesis Chapters 12-25
        • Genesis Chapters 26-36
        • Genesis Chapters 37-50
      • Exodus Bible Study >
        • Exodus 1-15
        • Exodus 16-23
      • John Calvin For Everyone
      • What is a Presbyterian Video Series
      • Two Year Bible Trek
      • Immigration Information
      • Faith Formation Groups
      • Fellowship and Ministry Groups
      • Classes and Events
    • Hand in Hand Early Learning Center
    • Belhar Confession
    • All Abilities Inclusion Ministry
    • Disability Inclusion Resources
  • Events
    • Holy Week
    • 24-Hour Prayer Vigil
    • Senior Adventures
    • Concerts at First
    • Vacation Bible Camp
    • Lunch and Learn
    • New Member Event
    • SAIL event
    • Calendar
  • News
    • Email Sign-up
    • First Things
  • Connect
    • Inclusive Communities Network
    • SAIL Solutions for Adult Independent Living
    • Faith Formation Groups
  • App/Members' Portal
  • Give
    • Contribute to FPC
    • Stewardship
    • 2023 Pledge Form
    • 2022 Financial Review
    • Community Rewards Programs >
      • Kroger Sign up/Re-register
      • Link to AmazonSmile
    • Deacons
    • First Foundation >
      • Donating
      • Grant Requests
      • Serving the World
      • History