Sermon: A throwaway God

Intro 

In a throwaway world how do we hold onto the important things and the most important of all, our relationship with God? 

Goal 

I want us to understand that our relationship with God involves persistence. 

Sermon Plan 

We will discuss how Jesus can be politically incorrect at times by worldly standards but never by heavenly standards. We will also discuss how we must be persistent with God. 

Politically incorrect Jesus 

What kind of Jesus do we worship? There is a Jesus of the Bible and any number of Jesuses of pop culture. Often the two are very different. Mark 7:24-37 introduces us to an aspect of Jesus that may not be popular. Like Daniel, Jesus was not always politically correct. In Daniel’s day, the politically correct thing to do was to at least pretend to worship the golden image created by the government establishment. His three friends refused and were arrested. Jesus insulted a gentile woman using politically incorrect language. Certainly in the Greek he actually used the term puppy rather than dog. Even though the expression is a metaphor, it still refers to her as a lesser racial priority than Israel. Jesus was not concerned with political correctness, but teaching. Sometimes being politically incorrect is the right thing. 

Christians today are afraid to be politically incorrect lest we be ostracized by those around us. But we are called to stand up for justice and God’s way of life, even if popular opinion would brand us as unacceptable. Christian positions on abortion, homosexuality, and the necessity to take care of the poor are not popular, but we must stand for justice and righteousness. 

A throwaway God 

How does a throwaway society treat God? We package things in throwaway containers. Our cars are designed to be thrown away rather than continually repaired and renewed. We throw away spouses like old clothing. We toss aside loyalty to family members in our lust for status and money. Some people are more loyal to a sports team than to God. Do we worship a throwaway God? In Mark 7:24-37 Jesus spoke with a gentile woman who would not quit on him. He ignored her, but she persisted. He insulted her, but she persisted. How often has it seemed like Jesus has ignored our prayers? How often has it seemed like Jesus insults us? How often has it seemed like we are beaten down by evil and need God’s help? Do we persist or is our God a throwaway God? 

Outro 

Jesus was politically incorrect at times by worldly standards but never by heavenly standards. He sometimes seems to ignore us or offend us, but no matter our opinions or feelings we must be persistent with God.