It's Just A Little Bit Like High School! Series

It’s Just a Little Like High School!

Luke 1:1-4

© 2006 Eric Bain

NOTE: This sermon is available in audio format @ www.sanctuary-church.com

This morning, were beginning a brand new series… diving into the Gospel of Luke. But what is the Gospel of Luke??? Well, really, its the history that Luke wrote about the life and ministry of Jesus. So, grab a Bible and turn to the book of Luke (pg ________).

While you’re finding it, I want to take a moment to talk about Spirituality in America. You see, I’ve come to the conclusion that the American Spirituality really has a lot in common with American High Schools. Which makes sense, if you think about it, because aren’t we all… to some degree… a product of the way we were raised, or trained. And most all of us went to high school right here in the U.S.A.. So, remember how when you were back in High School… for some of us, that’s a more distant memory –

ILL – I was just in the back kitchen as we were setting up this morning. They have a list the names of their students and their birthdays… I came to the startling realization that this years high schools graduating class was born… the year after I graduated HS.

Nonetheless… Think back to when you were in HS, maybe you are still in high school, but remember how there were… for the most part… four basic groups that pretty much everybody fell into -- we call them cliques. I mean there were the Jocks, the Geeks, the Band Nerds, and the Drama Freaks. Right?... Basically?

o A BIG part of HS was figuring out… Where are you going to fit into this mix

Well, the same is true, I think, with Spirituality in American. There are really just four basic groups that, I think, the overwhelming majority of Americans fall into. That’s it, just four.

2. The first group of people within American Spirituality--- The "Spiritually Eclectic".

These people are at the buffet of spirituality and they are taking a sampling of everything they can get their hands on. To them, it doesn’t matter if you eat the turkey, or the chicken... the Chinese or the Italian, it’s just important that you join in on the feast. You see, to them, there is no right and wrong in spirituality. It is just all-good!

o I have my god… you have yours…

o I have my spirituality… you have yours… and it’s all good!

The Spiritually Eclectic…

2. The second group, are the individuals that really want nothing to do with spirituality. To them spirituality just is not worth the trouble. You see, if there are any consequences to being not spiritual… well... they’ll just deal with them later.

Well, I’ve come up with a name for this group of people. I call them "Shallow Ender’s." Now, I’ve known several "Shallow Ender’s" in my life, it’s not that they’re bad people… they just sort of carry this attitude of…

Don’t bother me with all that deep thought stuff…

I’ll just stay in the shallow end of the pool.

Shallow Ender’s….

3. The third group, or clique, within American Spirituality… I like to call the "Committed Non-Christians". These people have committed to some form of spirituality, and they’re going all out. The thing is… it’s just not main line Christianity. Now, don’t take that statement as a judgment call. I am just pointing out that these are deeply spiritual people… but they’re committed to something other than Christianity. It may be Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or naturalism...

The point is, the foundation of their belief is not based on the basic principles of Biblical Christianity.

4. Which makes the fourth group within American Spirituality… those people that follow the basic principles of Biblical Christianity. Committed Christians. – or followers of Christ (Explain

Four Groups within American Spirituality…

1. The Shallow Ender’s

2. The Spiritually Eclectic

3. The Committed Non-Christian

4. And the Committed Christians

And the thing is… we all have to determine where we fit in.

But now, for a moment, lets go back to the idea of High School. Remember back in those days?...

o First you had to figure out how you fit in… (Jock/Nerd/Geek/Freek)

o But then these various groups all mixed together to somehow form the center of the Universe.

You see… It was that way for me. I used to think that there was nobody else in the entire world that could possibly be dealing with situations similar to what I was dealing with at that cultural Mecca... Bemidji High School.

• I had this belief that my High School was somehow different from all the rest.

• That it was truly unique.

• That what my classmates, and I, were going through was some sort of radical, sociological experiment that had never been done before.