Today's sermon arises out of a deep personal conviction, one which has been growing within me for many years. I've struggled with how to say what I want to say. It finally took shape some weeks ago when I was talking to a construction worker. He was not a believer. In fact, he was quite hostile toward the church. He couldn't fathom how Christians could build church buildings all around the world while children and youth starve. I tried to explain that for every dollar given to a church building countless other dollars have been given to programs for children and youth, dollars which would not have been given had there not been a building where Christians met. I discovered quickly, though, that I was speaking into the wind. His opinion was formed and he didn't wish to hear what I had to say. That okay. He's not the first person who didn't want to hear what I have to say, and I'm sure he won't be the last. But these words really troubled me. With a quiver in his voice he said, "I like your Jesus but I don't like your churches. Maybe I would like your churches if they were more like Jesus."

I don't want to assume that a disgruntled construction worker is right just because he mustered the courage to speak his mind. That's not fair to the church. But that confrontation has bothered me. It tapped into that deep conviction which had been growing within me, namely that Jesus Christ and His teachings appear increasingly irrelevant to our culture, and as a result people, including people in the church, no longer take Jesus and His teachings seriously.

Be honest with yourself. Has Jesus been reduced to a relic of our past which we respect too much to discard? Has He become a museum piece which no longer has a profound impact upon who we are but which still has historical value? Has the most challenging figure in human history become like the elderly grandmother who goes to live with her children? Since she is their grandmother, they provide her with a comfortable room in the attic. They feed her and provide for her basic care. She is invited to take her meals with the family but she rarely does. She is made to feel like she is a bother; and she is, though no one would ever admit it. She is an intruder in their home, but she is grandmother. If the secrets of their hearts were exposed, they all would wish that she would move to another place, but no one would dare say that. Do they love her? Of course, they do. They gave her a room in the attic, didn't they? Do they admire her? Yes, she is grandmother. Do they respect her? Of course they do. But do they take her real needs and feelings seriously? She would say no.

And neither do we take Jesus seriously any more. We admire Jesus. We respect Jesus. We even love Him. But we do not take Jesus and His teachings seriously. That is why there is so little difference between people in the world and people in the church. That is why the moral values of our youth only reflect the moral values of other youth. That is why the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible study sound archaic to our ears. Therefore, today I'll not ask if you love Jesus. I know the answer to that question. We all love Jesus, don't we? I'm not going to ask you if you admire or respect Jesus. I know that answer, too. Instead, I want to ask if you take Him seriously. And if so, what is the evidence of that in your life?