In This Edition:
Why Christianity Has A Cross
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” (1 Cor 15:3 NIV)
DYING TO LIVE
In the early morning hours of September 2, 1666, fire broke out in the city of London. The source of the fire was the King’s own bakery, oddly enough, on Pudding Lane. It could not have been a worse place for the fire to start. Pudding lane was a narrow street lined with wooden homes (with straw roofs) and bakeries. One street over was the London Bridge, which also was lined with houses made of plaster and wood.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was an unusually strong east wind that morning, which pushed the fire toward Thames street and Fish Street Hill. These streets contained large storerooms filled with combustible materials such as oil, pitch, and tar. This means the fire became so intense that no one could get close enough to fight the flames.
To make matters worse, London had no central fire station. In their great wisdom, the London council leadership had earlier suggested that local residents handle any fire outbreaks with leather buckets of water. In really serious cases, they were to burn wood as a means of creating a firebreak. These genius’ of ingenuity and prevention assessed the situation and determined that the fire would probably burn itself out.
And it did—5 days later. 13,000 houses, 87 churches (including St. Paul’s Cathedral), and all the main buildings of London were destroyed. 200,000 people were left with nothing. Amazingly, only 5 deaths were reported.
Today, in the city of London, stands a monument commemorating the Great London fire of 1666. You may wonder why anyone would commemorate such a tragic moment. But according to some accounts, the story is quite possibly more salvific than tragic.
You see, on that same cool September morning, Londoners were experiencing the worst case of plague in their history. No one knew what caused this terrible disease that could ruin whole cities in a matter of weeks. The disease was actually carried by fleas which lived on the skin of black rats which by far outnumbered people in London. In their panic to stop the dreaded disease (which they assumed came through larger animals), the leaders of the city slaughtered 40,000 dogs and 80,000 cats. I can think of no better way to make the rat problem worse! And from May of 1665 to September of 1666, 1,000 Londoners were dying every week. With no apparent way to stop the disease, the people (both the sick and the healthy) simply sat in their homes and waited to die.
Until a strong East wind carried the flames of a fire in the king’s kitchen to the rest of the city. The path of the flame passed through the most combustible sections of town, making the heat so strong that no one could put it out. At the days end 5 days later, every trace of the terrible plague lay scorched in the glowing embers of the desolate city. The same fire that “robbed” 200,000 people of house and home gave 200,000 people and their ancestors a chance to live again. What appeared to be London’s greatest tragedy was, quite possibly, their greatest Savior.
You know where I’m going with this. Christianity has been around a long time, and we have had every chance to tell the story differently. We could have removed the cross and talked about a good man who taught pleasant things intended to help us think better thoughts about ourselves and others. But Christians have always–and continues–to preach Christ crucified. What appeared to be the world’s greatest tragedy was, in fact, our salvation. So…why is the cross good news?
The cross says God experienced suffering, and acknowledges the reality of pain, evil, and suffering.
The cross tells us our debt is cancelled, but also of the enormity of our debt, paid for by God himself.
The cross tells us our sins are forgiven, but that forgiveness involves costly suffering.
The cross makes a cosmic announcement.
The cross represents a way of life, changing forever our value system.
The conclusion to the London fire story is ironic, don’t you think? With no available means to trace the source of the plague (and every effort to fix the problem only made it worse), the only chance for salvation had to come from the outside. But it came with a price. It demanded everything they had. But that is the real irony; they couldn’t go on living with plague-infested parts of their lives. By giving up everything they had, they experienced the transforming power of the fire, offering hope to those willing to start all over again.
How can Paul claim to “boast in the cross”? How can Christians sing “in the cross, in the cross, be my GLORY ever?” To have the power over death and allow yourself to die is anything but glorious; it’s an act of insanity to himself and treachery to his followers (who left everything to join him in this crusade). He must be mad, or delusional…or he must know something we don’t know. It’s for the same reason Londoners take pride in the fire of London. How can I glory in the cross? Because his cruel death is my glorious salvation, allowing everything that is decaying in me to die, so that I might—with transformed vision and a transformed life—begin to truly live.
A sermon preached at the West Side Church of Christ titled “Why Christianity Has A Cross.” It is the first sermon in the series “Matters of First Importance.” This lesson will also soon appear on the Life on the West Side podcast (Season 2, Episode 34). Once posted on Nov 15, it will be available on all podcast platforms.
What’s Current On The West Side
Doubts. We all have them. The big question is what we do with them. Maybe you grew up as a Christian, but you haven’t darkened the door of a church building in quite some time. Maybe you’ve had a painful experience, and trusting in God just doesn’t seem adequate any more. Maybe your reading and studies have made you feel like you’ve grown past, or grown tired of religion and its claims. I’d like to invite you on a journey for 4 weeks as we ask the hard question: “is faith credible?” A true and meaningful faith is one that is worthy of our questions, worthy of our longings, worthy of our examination, and worthy of our trust. Doubters welcome. Seekers welcome. Skeptics welcome. We, like you, have lots of questions. And we don’t have all the answers; but we know the one who does. Let’s walk together in our search for a worthy faith.
This Sunday, I will preach the fourth and final lesson in our “Worthy Faith” series. “A Faith Worthy of our Doubt.” The Bible heroes of faith often express doubt, frustration, and ask hard questions of God. Church is intended to be a place for people who practice a thinking faith, a faith seeking understanding. Church ought to be a place where disagreement and doubt does not destroy but leads to discernment. Christ welcomes doubters. Praise God!
Past presentations of the series (along with sermon notes and reference links) can be found on the “Worthy Faith” page, found here.
This final lesson will be streamed Sunday at 9 AM (CST) on facebook or YouTube, or you can visit my website later (or the Worthy Faith page) to watch the sermon, read the transcript, or listen to it as a podcast. If you are in the area, we would love to have you join us.
A Method To My Madness
Deciding what to preach—and how to preach it—is not for the faint of heart. As is typical in any large congregation, I will usually receive feedback that runs the gamut. The lesson that touched one family so effectively seemed less than ideal to another couple. The sermon that hit on a topic held dear by an older lady in the back did nothing for the college students sitting to the side. Each week, I either spent too much time introducing the lesson, or not enough time “connecting” to the audience before I began. Either too many disparate verses, or “not enough Bible.” The series is either spot on or out of place. Preachers, you know the struggle.
So let me let you in on the “method” in my madness (such as it is). Eventually, I would like to follow a consistent pattern. While showing some appreciation for the lectionary, pressing issues of the day, and the “times and seasons” in which listeners are dwelling on obvious things (think “Christmas” and “Easter” for example), I would like to have 4 general moves a year in this rotation: (1) An expository journey through a New Testament book; (2) A topical study that is doctrinal in nature; (3) An expository journey through an Old Testament book; (4) A topical study that is devotional in nature, addressing felt needs.
But having begun a brand new ministry, I like the first year to be “laying down the foundation stones.” The goal is to have written, presented, and recorded something on the major planks that form the ground for healthy theology. I’d like to be able to point someone to my website, the church website or the church youtube page (or my own) and lead them through a “Starter’s Journey” that reveals the main things I’m hoping my ministry will unpack and unfold over several years.
If a person was open to beginning the journey, I would want to have a conversation about “a worthy faith”: one that is reasonable, one that has room for doubt, and one that is worthy exploring. Then I would want to introduce them to my good and beautiful God, portraying him not as the “all-seeing eye” but as the loving rescuer we find in the person of Jesus Christ. I would want to tell them what the gospel is—both in general terms, rooted in God’s amazing grace, but also by emphasizing matters of first importance (the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and appearances of Jesus) as Paul calls them. I would want to introduce the concept of discipleship, explain how the gospel changes everything, demanding all but giving life. For someone interested in responding to the gospel message, I would want to present baptism as an invitation to participate in the story, as a way of saying “yes” to Jesus (not earning our salvation). To those who have said yes to the God we see in Jesus Christ, I would not want to leave you alone in your Christian walk; God doesn’t either. So I would teach on the Holy Spirit. I would emphasize that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in you, to work in and empower you. When you begin to doubt yourself, I would remind you that your blessed assurance is found in Jesus Christ, not your ability to get everything right. I would speak of the church as the gathered people of God, where the work of the Spirit can be seen collectively as we join together as one body of Christ. And I would look toward our ultimate goal: as the Spirit works within us to make us holy, and to grow more of God’s likeness within us, he will stay at it until the day of completion, when he will glorify us by raising and renewing our bodies, and making everything right.
Is there more to say and teach? Of course! But while each of these could be a 12-week series, I have tried to say something about each of these points in my first 6-months at West Side. That sets out the “begin” series. My Wednesday night and Sunday morning Bible classes will focus on the “learn” series. I will spend the next 6 months of Sunday sermons laying the groundwork for my “discover” and “grow” series. You can see the layout of the overall vision on my website under “Lessons For Life.”
So, yes, there is a method to the madness. May God richly bless you!
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My name is Nathan Guy, and I serve as the preaching minister for the West Side Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas. I am happily married to Katie and am the proud father of little Grace. You can find more resources on my website over at nathanguy.com. Follow me: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
