We’re going to be talking on Sunday nights in September and October about the Christian Church and what is distinctive about us, especially as compared to other Christian traditions in the U.S. This summer, though, I’ve wanted to talk about what we Christians—of most theological stripes—have in common.

So, I want to take this Sunday and wrap up what’s built into this “Faith Pyramid” we’ve been talking about.

[Note: even within the ranks of self-identified Christians, not every single one of them hold to all 12 of these tenets. If we were to poll, though, I think we’d find more common ground on these points than “uncommon” ground. Our differences may be important, but we should remember what we have in common, too, if for no other reason than that we can discuss our differences in a loving and Christian manner.]

God Is

It all starts with God. Either the earth and everything on it, and the universe and everything in it, were caused, or we’re all just random chance. If we’re just the product of chance, then there is no meaning beyond ourselves. In which case, as a prominent atheist once said, the question is not whether to commit suicide, but when.

Have you ever dropped a jar of grape jelly on the kitchen floor? (By accident, I hope!) Isn’t it cool how the glass breaks into perfectly formed little beads which are perfect making a homemade necklace and all the grape jelly reforms into little balls which are easy swept up and—with a little varnish—can be turned into an attractive table setting?

What? You’ve never had that happen? Me either. For me, randomness leads to chaos. Explosions lead to debris.

And while there are explosions in this world, I look at a planet that can sustain life, at the millions of cells that make up my own body, at the distance the moon is from our planet so that the tides are regulated and that our planet is exactly the right distance from the sun and I see the intelligence of design, which leads me to believe there was/is a designer.

The more I read this book we call the Bible, the more I am convinced that the God of this book is the Great Designer. Speaking of this book …

He Has Spoken
Hebrews 1:1-2
In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. (GNB)

If you’ve ever called my house and gotten the answering machine, you got the boring, computerized voice that comes with the machine. I haven’t recorded a personalized message on there because I don’t know how. It’s not an intuitive process and I lost the manual.

When man sinned and was kicked out of Eden, that could have been the end of things. But God had created man on purpose and wasn’t willing for his work to go to waste. So he spoke to us. He provided us a manual. It’s a manual about how things work, but it’s also a manual about how they work right! This is the key to good living.

There is Truth

There was a story of a sidewalk preacher speaking one day when an atheist challenged him from the crowd, saying, “I could do a better job with creating a world than this God of yours ever could!!” The preacher spoke humbly and said, “I don’t want to challenge you on this. But just for argument’s sake, could you create a bunny for us, just to show that you are capable of backing up your claim?”

The test of truth that most of us can understand is whether or not it is what it claims to be. Put the Word of God to the test in your own life. Try it out and see what happens!

Psalm 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (ESV)

God Loves the World
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (ESV)

The Psalmist wondered why God was even mindful of us. I think back to a project I built in high school. I was showing the boys a picture of it this week. For Industrial Arts, I designed a shopping center and built a scale model of the building and the grounds. I put a lot of work into it and was really proud of the outcome. God a blue ribbon at the state competition. Once the contest was over, though, I had nowhere to put the model. Eventually, it fell apart and was thrown away. No big deal. It was only a model.

God, the creator of us, though, still pays us attention. We’re more than models to him. We are his children and he loves us. Try that truth on for size!!

He Has Come

The evidence is overwhelming that Jesus of Nazareth was a historical figure. While people have tried for centuries to discredit the accounts of his life written by four men (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), the arguments in favor of these accounts are much stronger and more widely accepted.
[There will always be detractors. I encourage you to read some of them and read the responses written by Godly men. Read books like “The Case for Christ” and “Mere Christianity” or “The Dawkins Delusion.”]

I’m going to assume you’re here today because you either believe that God has sent his son—Jesus—or are at least exploring that possibility. [If you’re exploring, talk to me after church and I’ll try to help you find the materials you need.] In this congregation, we believe that no only has the Son of God come, he did so to show us the path back to the Father.

God in Three Persons

God didn’t just come (in the person of Jesus), he left behind a guide to show us the path to him. We have God above who created us and wants to draw us home; God beside us who has walked the same paths we have—even unto death, and shown that it’s not something to be feared—and shown us the way; and God within, the Holy Spirit who continually teaches us and encourages us and, yes, sometimes has to chastise us.
But how can unholy, sinful people like us, have any truck with a holy God?

Conversion!
John 3:3
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (ESV)

We must become something different from what we’ve been.

Jesus invited us to take his yoke upon us. He knew, as we talked about Wednesday night, that we are all under some sort of yoke. We fool ourselves into thinking we are independent, totally free creatures, in which case we are dragged down under a yoke of sin.

Reconciliation

We are in a world which has lost sight not just of truth, but of almost everything that is important.

When we were in Durango we got started talking to a lady who was at the ski mountain with her kids. It was summer, but there’s lots to do (alpine slide, mini-golf, bungee-trampoline, etc.). Somehow it came up that while she and the kids were doing all these fun things, Dad was back at the condo, still doing work for his company in Austin. The lady didn’t seem too happy about this. And I couldn’t blame her. Jobs are important, but I envision that guy retiring one day and his only memory of vacationing with the kids will be sitting alone in a condo.

Colossians 3:21
Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits. (MSG)

What a parent like that needs, is to be reconciled with his kids. He probably doesn’t realize it—and neither do they—because as far as they can tell they get along. This father’s become convinced by this world that he’s a great dad because he provides material goods for his kids. But a great dad is one who raises his children up in the knowledge and love of God. That’s what makes a great mother, too.

Ekklesia

Remember this word? It’s not a building. It’s not even a place. It’s a group of people who have come together for war. They know they are either going to attack or be attacked.

We are in a spiritual war.

1 Chronicles 12:32
Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. (ESV)

What the ekklesia and the world needs are men (and women) like this. As a church—and assembly—if we don’t occasionally look back at what matters, we’re going to look back some day and see that what we did didn’t matter.

How do we get there? How do we develop men and women like this?

Holiness
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or in act, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving praise to God the Father through him. (BBE)

Holiness is about putting God first. It’s not about thinking less of ourselves, it’s about thinking of ourselves less.

The Sanctity of Life
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (ESV)

Human life—all human life—matters because it was created in the image of God. There’s treasure buried inside every single body!
And finally …

The Return

There was a song a few years ago that said, “People get ready, Jesus is comin’, soon we’ll be going home.” The song’s right.

Jesus will come and judge the living and the dead. He’ll divide the sheep from the goats and the sheep get a really nice pasture and … we may not want to know what happens to the goats. Suffice to say you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy.

So, what will you be? A sheep or a goat?

Why is this important? Look around us. Besides the sins we see like murder and theft and adultery, think about how many people we know—maybe you’re one of them—who are drowning in credit card debt or so obsessed with getting a new car or a new house that they can’t find joy where they are. On top of this, a lot of surveys show the U.S. to be the unhappiest country on the planet. The same surveys show the happiest people live in—are you ready for this?—Nigeria. And Nigerian Christians are at the tip top of the scale!

Now, in surveys, committed Christians generally rank as the “most happy”, even in the States. Yet even we are afflicted with the desire to keep up with the Joneses. We need to be reminded every so often of what’s really important.

What do I DO with this pyramid?

• Live joyfully. You’ve found the manual. You know how it works now!

• And, if you remember nothing else, remember that it all starts (and ends) with God.