A Church Full of Sinners/Surviving the Holidays
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: The X-Files
A Church Full of Sinners
by Mitchell Skelton
Mark 2:13–17
After a series of revival sermons, a church had
prayed enthusiastically for God to give them
growth. It happened that one Sunday at worship a
known prostitute entered the building and took a
seat in the back of the building. Everyone ignored
her. After hearing the sermon, she felt the call
of the gospel and responded. The preacher and the
congregation did not know what to do, much less
say. After a very long and uncomfortable silence
one well respected man in the congregation stood
up, breaking the silence, and suggested that they
all pray. He prayed, "Oh Lord, we know that we
have prayed that this church would grow and that
we prayed that many would hear the gospel and
believe. However, when we prayed we didn't know
that you would be sending such sinners as this.
Don’t you know that we don’t allow people such as
this in our church?" It was not until this moment
that the members of this church realized that God
had indeed answered their prayers!
What is your attitude toward the growth of the
Lord's church? Are you ready and willing to accept
what God has in store for his church? What about
your attitude toward those on the fringe, are you
willing to accept them into the fold when God
calls? Jesus had an opportunity to show us the
proper attitude toward "sinners" in the call of
Matthew Levi. Matthew was so excited about meeting
Jesus that he wanted all of his friends to meet
him. It was during Matthew's "dinner party" that
the Pharisees, who saw him there, questioned
Jesus' disciples saying, "Why does he eat with tax
collectors and 'sinners'?"
Do you, like the Pharisees, constantly find
yourself looking for the wrong in someone? Jesus
warned of having such an attitude and taught that
we should be concerned first and foremost with our
own problems. "Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention
to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to
your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your
eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matt.
7:3–5).
Jesus didn't view the world as an opportunity for
contamination but rather as an opportunity for
conversion. When Jesus was traveling in Samaria,
he came across a woman who had been married five
times and was now living with someone who was not
her husband. After Jesus spoke to the Samaritan
woman he spoke to his disciples with urgency
proclaiming, "the fields are ripe to harvest!"
(Jn. 4:35). Jesus commanded us to preach the
gospel to ALL creation, NO EXCEPTIONS (Mk.
16:15,16).
When you consider the "sinners" of this world,
what do you see? Do you only see their problems or
do you see past the problems and see potential?
The Pharisees looked at Matthew's group of friends
and could see no good. Jesus never denied that
these people didn't have problems. Jesus
acknowledged their problems. Yet, Jesus saw past
their problems and looked at their potential (Mk.
2:17).
When 16-year-old Eliza married 20-year-old Andrew,
he had never been to school. Others might have
written Andrew off as a "lost cause", but not
Eliza. She persisted and taught him to read and
write. Andrew proved to be a fast learner. He
learned so well in fact that years later he became
the 17th President of the United States. You see,
Eliza's Andrew was none other than Andrew Johnson.
/1
How do you view the world? Is the world an
opportunity for contamination or an opportunity
for conversion? What do you see when you look at
the lost souls of the world? Is it only their
problems you see or do you see their potential?
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners" (Mk. 2:17).
1 Bruce Rzengota, http://www.sermoncentral.com
COLUMN: Hands-On Faith
Surviving the Holidays
by Barry Newton
It was the best of times. It was the worst of
times. These words could well have been written
about life during the holiday season. It can seem
like the holiday season is made up of a wreath of
special moments and cherished memories intertwined
with hurt feelings, misunderstandings, loneliness
and tremendous frustrations.
People get frustrated, if not downright angry,
when their dreams and wishes for the holidays are
blocked or if the events unfold contrary to their
expectations of how things should be. Tensions
within families can run high. Where should we
spend the holidays? When and how should the
presents be opened? Why should they get to relax
while I labor at making preparations? The list of
colliding thoughts, values and expectations
contributing to the boiling point seems to be
nearly endless.
What can you do to improve your holiday
experience? Here's a few thoughts appropriate for
those who call themselves members of God's family.
1) Do not wait for someone to invite you to their
home, invite them to your home
The Golden Rule encourages us to take the
initiative in doing for others what we would like
them to do for us. Instead of allowing self-
centeredness to swallow up our thoughts, plan how
you will be a blessing to others (Lk. 6:31).
2) Reach out to those who are poor as well as the
lonely
While it is not a sin to invite those to our
parties who have means or who are our friends, we
can serve God and model Christian values to our
children by reaching out to those who do not have
ability to return our invitation (Lk 14:12-14;
Rom. 12:16).
3) Forgive the past and let go of previous
grievances
Unfinished business swirling up from feelings of
past favoritism, resentment over long-standing
injustices and just a whole host of other
interrelationship matters can sour and destroy
time together. God's people are to forgive others.
Yes, life can be unfair and others have at times
acted out of dark motives as we too are not
innocent in all matters. But as children of God,
we are to forgive and not bear a grudge against
others (Eph. 4:32-5:1; Lev. 19:18). This is not
just for their benefit but also for our own well-
being.
4) Know how to respond to frustrating situations
While those who demand their rights and feel "I
should be able to ____" will only increase the
pressure within relationships to the breaking
point, the peace maker responds by seeking the
well-being of others in the same manner he seeks
his own. Perhaps the wisdom of overlooking an
offense will be needed (Prov. 12:16). Perhaps
there will be the need to reevaluate just how
important an issue is. A hundred years from now
will it really matter if we do it this way or
that? Perhaps letting others have their way this
time would be an appropriate response.
During this pressure cooker season, we have a
wonderful opportunity as God's people to remember
what is truly important and strive to bless the
lives of others. May your words and actions
reflect our Savior's values and will.
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