What do you call it when you’re not depressed but neither are you thriving? You’re not down in the dumps but neither are you on the mountain-top. Apparently it’s called ‘languishing.’ I was sent an article this week from the New York Times which used this word to describe what so many people are feeling in the COVID era. We’re not living in the dark, but neither are we living in the sunlight. We inhabit the gray overcast clouds of languishing. We’re not burned out but we’re not energized. As the Times put it, “languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield. And it might be the dominant emotion of 2021.”

So, do we just wait it out and hope life will improve again when COVID has disappeared. That could be a long time coming, if the media have their way. Also, languishing leaves us much more vulnerable to full-blown depression. So, how can we life a full life in empty times? John 1:14-17 points us to a source of overflowing fulness to fill us full.

Full sermon notes for John 1:14-17.

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Suffering is at the heart of the Gospel. But many rip the heart of suffering out of the Gospel. They want a painless cross, a painless Christian life, and a painless eternity for everyone. They want to cover up the truths of Christ’s suffering on the cross, the Christian’s suffering in life, and the Christless suffering in hell. Attempting to make the Gospel more palatable and popular, they end up with no Gospel at all. Why do we insist that suffering is at the heart of the Gospel? Let’s hear from Jesus in Luke 12:49-59.

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“Dad, if your family never came, our house would fall apart.” That’s what my kids used to say about the busy two or three days of repairing, decorating, tidying, and cleaning just before my family would visit us from the UK. It would be all-hands-on-deck for a couple of crazy days and we usually just finished getting the house ready the second before they arrived.

My kids were probably right. Without the expectation of visitors arriving, we would have just kept putting off the work. Knowing my relatives would show up in a day or two got us motivated and moving. In Luke 12:35-48, Jesus appeals to that motivation to move us to get ready for his arrival at the end of time by providing two answers to the question: Why should we get ready for the end?

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Life is money and money is life. That’s the essence of a recent report which found that “money dominates our daily thoughts.” What happens when money is life and life is money? In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus warns of two serious consequences.

Covenant is confusing but it should be clarifying. It’s a big word in the Bible but it’s a small word in our lives.

If I was to ask, “What is a covenant?” we would probably get as many different answers as hearers. If I was to ask, “What is God’s covenant?” I think we’d get more furrowed brows than full answers. If I was to ask, “What role does God’s covenant have in your life?” probably most of us would say “Not a lot!” or “Very little.” How can understand and use God’s covenant better? How can we improve the clarity and practicality of God’s covenant? Daniel has some answers for us in Daniel 1:1-19.

Sermon notes on Daniel 9:1-19.

Being welcomed warms our hearts, being rejected rips them out. We’ve all been rejected at one point in our lives, haven’t we? A college rejected our application. An employer let us go. A coach cut us from the team. Someone we asked for a date said no. Our spouse started an affair. Rejection rips our heart out. If we think about these rejections too much, we sink emotionally and mentally, so we generally try to put it behind us.

But can we think about rejection in a way that will be good for us? I believe we can. For example, if we remember the pain of rejection, we will be less rejecting and more welcoming of others. What about spiritual rejection? Can we turn that to good? Can we use the rejection of Christ to increase the reception of Christ? Let’s look at John 1:10-13 for our answer.

Sermon notes on John 1:10-13.