First of all, this is a blog. This is a different medium than a newspaper, a sermon, or a book. People come to this site only because they choose to come to this specific site. And people can also choose to ignore posts if they choose. I begin with a disclaimer because as I write I feel frustrated. And I want to write about this frustration, to those who visit this site.

I just heard a terrible sermon. Why tell you about this sermon if it is terrible? I suppose because this type of sermon is so common. It is so typical of sermons I have been hearing my whole life in every congregation with which I have participated.

The title of the sermon was, "Consumed or consumer". The text was John 2 when Jesus whipped out the moneychangers and vendors. Zeal for God's house consumed him. From this text, the sermon went on to say that we should evaluate ourselves and determine if we are consumed like Jesus or consumers. The sermon went on to talk about a book called, Consumer or Consumed. And then the rest of the sermon was about the following points. Those who are consumed like Jesus do the following things: show up, listen up, open up, roll up (as in roll up their sleeves and get to work), and pray up. On the other hand consumers are characterized by the following behaviors: They ask what is in it for me? They are quick to critisize. Church attendance is shaky. They are quick to leave over problems.

I have heard this sermon topic preached many times in many different churches. It is a standard type message given when committment is waning or when their are difficulties in a congregation over various topics. This type of message is intended to encourage people by guilt and inspiration to step in line and support the organization of church. Stop complaining, stop skipping, volunteer more, give more, and don't you dare start shopping for another church.

The goal and topic is one set of issues. That by itself would not be enough to cause me to write a blog about a sermon. What is so typically terrible about this sermon is not the topic and intended goal, (although I have issues with that as well), but the fact that the text that is used has nothing to do with what is talked about. In fact, if one considers the text and then the intended message, John chapter 2 communicates the opposite point. Jesus is so consumed with zeal for God's house, that he cannot tolerate it's corruption. Jesus doesn't go along with the program at all. In fact, whenever Jesus shows up, he ends up critisizing what is going on. Kind of like John the baptist, who also was not participating in the regular cultic activity of his day, but was out in the desert, conducting his own baptisms. Often those people who are most consumed with zeal for God's house, are those who are the biggest trouble makers for organized religion. Isn't it fascinating that Paul, who writes that we should do everything possible to get along and live at peace with everyone, and yet whenever Paul showed up in a town, it wasn't long before a riot broke out? But now I am off track.

Yet this sermon read the text of John 2, and went on to talk about lots of things that the sermon maker wanted to say. In fact, here is how I think it went. The sermon writer read a book called, Consumer or Consumed. The writer thought, "this is good stuff, my congregation should hear this, it will really scratch where we itch." Then the sermon maker came up with a great catchy punch line, "Show up, listen up, open up, roll up and pray up" And then the pastor found a text that showed some passion and used the word, "consume". The sermon writer did not talk in the sermon about the text and how it demonstrated the points, and led to those points. The sermon merely discussed the idea of being consumed and developed that idea as it fit the context of the specific congregation to which the sermon would be preached.

This type of sermon is not sola scriptura. This type of sermon is not letting the word of God dwell richly in our hearts. This type of sermon is not pure preaching of the word. Yet this type of sermon is terribly common. It happens all the time. First a goal is chosen, then a text is sought. Then when the sermon is delivered, the text is read, and then the goals are brought out.

This particular sermon was very significantly offensive because the text chosen actually works against many of the points delivered in the sermon. Often the points made are somewhat sympathetic to the text, even though they usually don't come from the text.

About the sermon goals themselves. I wonder what our church culture would look like if people did act like Jesus, John the baptist, Paul, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or others who came along reforming religious culture?

When congregations experience difficulties there is often a move by someone in the congregation to talk about unity. After all Jesus prayed about unity. The question would be, unity around what? The nazi regime experience unity, around the idea of German superiority. Democrats experience unity around their ideals, Republicans around theirs, and Communists around theirs. The religious tradition I grew up with, the CRC, experiences unity around common music, common culture, and creeds. So what should unity be around? Something to think about.

Also, should sermons not based in the text be tolerated?