A FREE SERMON FOR SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2011. This is a gift to you from SermonStarter! Regarding John 17: 1 11 [12] Introductory Statement Colleagues: This is the last sermon before Easter. It celebrates the Ascension of our Lord (Thursday, June 2 nd ). There are three very difficult to grasp theological concepts in this sermon: 1) What happened at the Ascension? 2) What is the doctrine of Glorification? 3) What is the theology of Eternal Life? This is where Gut-Trip Analysis is so important. It never asks the question of What is something, rather it raises the issue of How do we experience it? In preparing this sermon for SermonStarter, I found it difficult to find a way to preach this material as there is not a lot to it, other than grounding these three major concepts. How do to this without losing those in the pew is going to be the stickler you will solve. Actually, I ve given more help to you than I usually do, or at least attempt not to do. The sermon needs to be yours and never mine; always you need to answer what is the message God has for me to give to God s people in the pew? We fail in this task at our own peril. For the occasion of our Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church, I ve made a special effort to print in blue whenever I ve associated the material with Gut- Trip Analysis. Please take and review this sermon. When you are interested in a FREE subscription to SermonStarter, send an email to SermonStarter@triumc.org. In the event you have difficulty although none is anticipated write me a personal email at wsalmon@cox.net or call me at 1-785-825-1221. Thank you for your interest. Be certain to order my two books. Decoding our Christian Words is a workbook that defines Gut Trip Analysis and includes 11 code words to which you can apply this method yourself. The Making of a Teacher: Studies in the Gospel of Matthew is 29 Pastor lessons Bill using Gut Trip Analysis. The lessons can stand alone, or are used as a Commentary. You ll be preaching from this Gospel all Summer and Fall! Inner Peace, Pastor Bill
THE LECTIONARY STUDY for May 8, 2005, the 7th Sunday in EASTERTIDE, is John 17: 1 11 [12], Jesus Prays for Himself. Some Gut Trip Analysis is provided as a sermon starter. The Color is WHITE OR GOLD. SERMON STARTER promotes the idea of letting the scriptures be your sermon outline. The Ascension of the Lord 40 days after Easter! Thursday, June 2, 2011 On the wings of a snow, white dove... Um-m-m-m? The Season of Eastertide, a period of 50 days prepares us for the birthday of The Church at Pentecost. During this time the emphasis is on the resurrected life. In Gut Trip Analysis the emphasis is on the experience of new birth and new life. What does it mean to be re-born, renewed or re-formed? THE GOSPEL OF JOHN: The purpose of the Gospel of John is to explore the meaning and significance of our baptismal experience. You will find it helpful to keep this purpose in mind as you plan your sermons. In fact, you ll find it very helpful to ground your own thinking about the experience of baptism. Gut Trip Analysis determines that the baptismal experience is a surrendering of our lives; i.e., to die to the things of this human world into order to experience the renewal of living the fully humane life that is pleasing to God. The Key to this sermon: ETERNAL LIFE and GLORIFICATION In order to speak to the message of this scripture it is necessary to clarify in your own mind the meaning of eternal life, and what you mean by glorification. From the point of view of Gut Trip Analysis, eternal life is the experience of deep satisfaction because this is where God lives within us. The term glorification means to fulfill our intended created purpose. Jesus intended purpose is to be the Sacrificial One or The Christ. Our human intended purpose is to live the humane and gracious life while working for justice and mercy. The term eternal life is experienced when we live in the presence of God; since only God is eternal. The way Jesus puts it is (Vs. 3), Now this is eternal life: that they may know you... How do we do this? We do this by fulfilling our intended creative purpose and by living At-One with neighbor, self and Perfect At- One-Ment which is the experience of living with God; also this fulfills the Divine Commandment. About today s scripture: This is one of those make or break sermons. The imperative is to get the term glorification grounded. If this is not done, this sermon will drift off into irrelevancy! Yes, this term is so little used (a claim only supported by my own experience), that it can usually be ignored. However, when we choose to treat the term seriously, this sermon can be an exciting exploration for us and an interesting and challenging experience for your listeners. So, which will it be? A Gut Trip Analysis of the term The Doctrine of the three states of being: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification Glorification! Let s set it in relationship to its other brother and sister terms, Justification, and Sanctification.
First, Gut Trip treats the term justification as the event of our awakening. Something happens to slap us in the face, or pours cold water on us, to awaken us to the reality that, like Howard Thurman suggests, We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, rather we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Justification is awakening to our fulfillment of living the Jesus-Life. Second, sanctification is the experience of choosing to embrace living the awakened life. Sanctification is the experience of living the Jesus-Life. Third, glorification is the self-conscious decision to embody living the awakened life; we ARE glorification. Someone wants to know what this term means, all they have to do is to look at us well, OK, look at Jesus. However, it s still what is available for us too. Glorification is CHOOSING to EMBODY the Jesus-life; we BE Jesus! The awakened life is none other than living the humane and gracious life working for justice and mercy. Re-grounding the term Believe If this term was not so important to this sermon, I would not take the time to reground it. However, later in Vss. 20 B and 21 B, Jesus calls for the opportunity for all those who heard the message of the disciples, as well as the possibility for the whole world to believe in living the glorified life. So what is the act of believing? In Gut Trip Analysis, believing is the act of surrender. It is associated with the terms faith and trust. The words belief and faith are Head Trip Words while the word trust is an existential or experiential word to trust in something means to give our lives over to it. You may remember playing the camp game of Trust, in which one person is blind-folded and stand inside a circle of people. The person in the center is asked to cross their arms in front of them, and on the count of 3 to fall backward into the waiting arms (they hope) that will catch them. This is trust-ing. This is faith-ing. This is believ-ing. Using a different example, when we get into an airplane we believe that the law of physics will get us into the air and back safely on the ground. Also, we believe in the training and qualifications of the pilot. This is something on which we can bet our life. This is what Jesus is affirming as the message of the disciples and the message for the whole world to BELIEVE; that is, the message to which he wants us to surrender. It is the activity that Jesus affirms as, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe. (NIV). The Purpose of John s Gospel The Meaning of our Baptismal Experience Illuminating the Work of Jesus as The Word John 6: 25 21: 25 Death as The Fulfillment of the Work of God John 13: 1 21: 25 Rationale for Jesus Death John 17: 20-26
GUT TRIP ANALSYIS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU MEMORIZE THE FOLLOWING: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become IN HIM a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4: 13-14 + + + The Key to this sermon is to ground the following before you begin writing. This means to define the word, describe your experience of it, and then illustrate it. Getting this grounded in your own experience and illustrated will change your sermons from ho-hum to a real message of victory and hope. Along the way, I ve shared a thought or two to inspire your efforts. Old Code Words/Phrases Vs. 1, He looked toward heaven (This is a Greek worldview and not a Jewish worldview.) Definition Experience Illust./Film Clips Heaven is not a place, but an experience or a relationship It could be said that Awakening to live the humane life is the experience of heaven. Vs. 2. For you granted his authority over all people that he might give them eternal life. Vs. 3, Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Vs. 4, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Vs. 5, Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Vs. 6, I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of this world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. The word Glory can always be translated as surrender Obedience=surrender
Vs. 10A,... glory has come to me through (your words) Vs. 11A, I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Vs. 11 B, Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - --- so that they may be one as we are one. Vs. 12A, While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safely by that name you gave me. Vs. 12B, None has been lost... The Sermon Title: Vs. 1B, The time has come The Theological Focus: Glorification: Living the surrendered life THE ONE THING to get said: We are damaged goods when we live blind to God s grace. What is THE EXISTENTIAL AIM of this sermon: Surrender to God by living the obedience-dependent life. THE CAPITAL VERSE to be used responsively: Vs. 2B,... he [can] give life lived in God s Presence. The ITCH: Isn t our faith in conflict with reality? No longer damaged goods! John 17: 1-12
AN OUTLINE BASED ON THE SCRIPTURE ** The Lowery Loop Pre-ITCH: (Establishing the Ambiguity) Set the scene for missing the message of The Ascension (Note: I m using a recent episode of a misguided End of the World prophecy, and the song, On the wings of a Dove. ) The ITCH: (Driving home the Ambiguity) What s wrong with this song? A. What are the characteristics of this kind of song? 1. Why we like it 2. What is your personal experience of it? B. Is there a problem with The Ascension? 1. Check Wikipedia Note the liturgical use of this dynamic 2. Observe how the Gospel s fail to use it but Acts and Romans do Note it is a Greek concept Define the Gnostic content Define the Docetic use of this material The UGH! (Pushing the Ambiguity to the deeps) Describe how two different worldviews are in conflict A. Share how you experience actual, visible, experience-able REALITY (This is not The Really Real of the transparent Spiritual Oasis, but the human experience. The purpose here is to note how Reality stays the same, but our perception of reality changes.) Ground B. Two different perceptions 1. How does the Jewish worldview look at reality? Ground at a Gut Trip experience 2. How does the Greek worldview look at reality? Ground as Head Trip experience 3. Note how the Early Church was stuck with both experiences 4. The result is how The Ascension comes to be viewed Ground The AHA: (The Gospel s unusual solution) Vs. 1B, Now the time has come. To do what? A. To get straight on the experience of GLORIFICATION the forgotten doctrine 1. Note the great trilogy of Doctrines: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification 2. Ground the experience of Glorification (Living the surrendered life!) 3. Vs. 4, Share how Jesus affirms this definition B. To get straight on the experience of ETERNAL LIFE (Note: Gut Trip treats this as living in the presence of God experienced as Perfect At-One-Ment.) 1. Ground 2. Vs. 3, Share how Jesus affirms this definition
The GOOD NEWS: (Be sure it s Good News) Vs. 11B, Perfect them by the power of your name, so that they may be ONE as we are one. A. FROM WHAT does God protect us? 1. Ground Whee! (Nailing down the point) Close by telling a story of damaged goods (Note this is a story about someone who lives out of this image.) 1. Close: Vs. 12B, None has been lost. How is this a promise? SEND OUT: You are sent out to live growing to Perfection. (Note: Thanks to John Wesley!) This sermonic progression is described in more detail in the following resource: Lowry, Eugene L., The Homilectical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.