The Average American -- FPC sermon excerpt

Joe American.

He’s got nine friends. Drinks the milk in the bowl after the cereal is finished. Eats 25 pounds of candy per year — but generally not in a single sitting.

Joe American recycles stuff, at least occasionally. Usually goes to bed before midnight. Isn’t famous — and doesn’t necessarily want to be. Believes in God, and goes to church at least once a month.

So … who is this guy? I bet you’re wondering. According to Kevin O’Keefe, a former magazine writer, Joe is the single most average person out of today’s 280 million Americans. O’Keefe devoted two years to crunching numbers and developing average criteria such as age and the ability to name all three of the Three Stooges. In case you are curious, the average American is 36 years old, and he can name the Stooges.

“There were a lot of surprises along the way,” O’Keefe tells Newsweek magazine (October 31, 2005). “We have this image that the average American lives on a farm in rural America.” But guess what? The last time farms were in the majority was in the 1920s. These surprises, and others, have been compiled by O’Keefe in a book called The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation’s Most Ordinary Citizen.

It is certainly significant that Joe American believes in God, and has never doubted his existence. And it’s worth noting that church attendance remains important, at least a dozen times a year. This sends the message that the average American is turning to Jesus in the 21st century with the same level of need and desire that was felt in the first century. And in both of these eras, Jesus shows a level of concern that is way above average.

Reinventing the Wheel -- FPC sermon excerpt

Let us speak the truth to our neighbors. Be angry but do not sin. Let no evil talk come out of our mouths. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us. Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.

These are the words of Paul to the Ephesians — simple, straightforward rules for those who want to live a new life as followers of Jesus Christ.

So why is it that we have so much trouble following these guidelines?

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get news of Christians doing something or other that has nothing to do with these rules for Christian living. One week I get a request from a conservative politician, asking for time in our worship service to make an appeal to support the November “Marriage Amendment.” Then another week I hear about a liberal theologian who has written a book — published by a Presbyterian publishing house — that accuses the Bush administration of conspiring in the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

What does this kind of activity have to do with living a Christian life? Very little, I’m afraid. It’s just politics, plain and simple.

The problem is that people don’t take the Bible seriously enough. Sure, they know how to quote Scripture, but they are very selective in the way they pick verses here and there to support their preferred political positions. They don’t seem to think that Paul was being serious when he said, “speak the truth … Let no evil talk come out of your mouths … live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 4:25-5:1).

It seems that so many people, across the political spectrum, want to reinvent the wheel. They look for new and novel ways to package Christianity as a conservative family-friendly lifestyle, or as a progressive political force, forgetting that the Bible already gives us all the guidance we need. Jesus certainly has a political point of view, but it is not right or left, conservative or liberal.

Are Christians supposed to attack their political rivals? Hardly. Jesus says, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Are Christians supposed engage in wild speculation about current events? Not at all. Paul says, “speak the truth to [your] neighbors, for we are members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25).

Are Christians supposed to rant and rave at their opponents? Never. Today’s passage says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up” (v. 29).

Love your enemies. Speak the truth. Say only what is useful for building up. These are the rules of true Christian living, straight from the Bible. They should be put into practice to the very best of our abilities. I love what G.K. Chesterton said a century ago, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

View Value -- FPC sermon excerpt

I just returned from a week of vacation on the coast of Maine, and I have to tell you — the scenery is spectacular. Problem is, you have to pay for it. A friend of mine casually inquired about the cost of a piece of waterfront land up there, one that sat on the end of a dirt road and contained a tiny two-bedroom, one-bath cottage. The price tag: $900,000.

Makes Fairfax County real estate sound like a bargain.

The views up in New Hampshire are getting pricey as well. In fact, officials across that scenic state have decided that majestic panoramas are now taxable. Good views are considered to be bonus features, like finished basements or extra bathrooms, and tax assessors are putting dollar amounts on them. This, in turn, requires homeowners with a beautiful view to pay extra property taxes.

According to The Washington Post (November 14, 2005), a man named Bennet Nicholson lived in a New Hampshire house overlooking the Connecticut River valley. The value of his spectacular scenery led to a doubling of his property taxes in one year. He ended up selling his house and moving to Canada.

Another resident made a formal complaint about the “view tax” when his property value doubled. He argued that he doesn’t own the view, he can’t control it, and it’s increasingly obscured by pollution. Besides, he is legally blind!

The tax assessor was unamused … and unmoved. The value of the view remained in place.

Putting a dollar amount on spectacular scenery might seem absurd to us, but in our hearts we all know that views have value. They really do. Seeing the world through the lens of Christian faith is what gives my life its meaning and purpose and value. It makes a difference to me that I view the world around me as a good creation of a loving God. I am so grateful that Jesus died to bring me forgiveness and new life. It really matters that I can experience the presence of Christ in our worship together, in the smile of a child in Vacation Bible School, and in the face of a homeless neighbor. It is of tremendous value to me that I can make a difference in this world as a disciple of Jesus, and as a person who can count on the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit every day.

Without this view, life would not have nearly as much value to me.