Metamorphosis : Changes in Appearance
A Disciples of Christ Sermon for February 22, 2004
I. Greetings
A. Steve Miller and Nordean Baxter
B. Meeting in Watsonville
II. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever – Hebrews 13
A. Dumbest thing I ever saw.
B. The story of transfiguration is about change. The Greek word we say is transfiguration is the word metamorphos.
C. In the beginning was the Word
Christmas
Historical Jesus
The Transfiguration
The Passion
Easter
The Ascension
Paul’s Vision
John’s Revelation
Pentecost
The Greco-Roman Church
The Holy Roman Empire
The Great Schism
The Reformations
The Counter-Reformation
Christians in America
III. The Great Awakening - Separation of Church and State – American Civil Religion
IV. Essentials
A. Campbell – the essential unity of the Church of Christ
The supreme authority of the Scriptures
The special authority of the New Testament
The fallacy of human creeds.
The essential brotherhood (community) of all who love Christ and try to follow Christ.
If human innovations can be removed from the church, the followers of Christ will unite upon the scriptural platform.
B. Walter Scott 5 finger discipline – coined “Jesus is the Christ”
Faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sin, gift of the holy spirit.
C. Baptism and Communion
V. Peter Gomes – What made the DOC striking in the 40’s and 50’s is that Disciples were unique. If you become a pasty faced lot, conforming to the American Civil Religion, then you deserve all the problems you get.
VI. Fred Craddock – laying down cushons.
VII. Mary Donovan Turner - the passion happens when the Disciples are no longer distinct and become part of the crowd.
VIII. How to be unique…
1. Educated Laity
2. Mature in faith – able to turn a critical eye on our own culture
3. Discern the Christ that is changeless and the Christ that must continue the metamorphosis.
4. Find our niche.
IX. Why be unique?
A man’s only begotten son cannot be healed by the disciples.
Jesus “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?”
And with that, the only begotten son was given back to his father.
How do we know what to do?
This is my Son, my chosen… listen to him.