First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest
Officers Retreat
May 18-19, 1990
John M. Buchanan
SESSION THREE

CONFIDENCE
Shirley and Harvey §
Cn)
Geen with

Shirely Valentine, page 27
British, housewife, mother of 2 grown children,
husband — Joe
-talké to wall - empty Tife...no passion
frjiiegd takes her to Greece A
she has always fantasized about drinking wine in
land where grape is grown...
finally makes it - see page_27
Religion has to do with living abundantly - fully -
passionately - joyfully ral A \o.19
An expanded, not contracted life...

Part af the reason - we don't 1Sy like

A

Shirley, we don’t think there is much in ourselves

—

— yaluable, adequate
and part of the reason is that no one ever helped
us see our own value -

Cn el

in fact, many pointed out the reverse

Harvey Cox, professor of Theology at Harvard
Divinity School, who has written a number of fine
books on theology and culture, wrote a short memoir
a few years ago about his personal faith experience
under the title, "Just As I An."{ Cox, whose
theology is broad, liberal, full of life and has a
passion for peace and justice in the world, grew UP
in a smal] conservative Baptist Church in

Pennsylvania. | He recalls that church with fondness

and respect and remembers singing the old gospel
nymn,/ "Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy
blood was shed for me."

And then this distinguished intellectual

betes ee

recalls those hazardous days. | He wasn’t very good

—,

at sports, there were better musicigns in the band,

the girls preferred other feliows. He wasn't the

smartest, and although he was sure his parents
Joved him, he was not at al] sure he would ever
live up to their expectations)

“But God accepted me just as I am"

That was not_it judgment put good 21 news, Years
later, when I read Paul Tiltich's famous sermon,
'You are Accepted,’ I knew exactly what it meant,
and I could hear the meoldy of the old hymn sti7]
humming on in the back of my mind" | [Just As I Am.

p. 151-152]
Bible Study - David story.
more on making QO. T. story framework for our

journey {this time focusing on a particular
character: DAVID

set scene
Israel conquers, settles, Judges - tribal soaic4 ™

Want a King
pg wrwis Saul wins loses God's confidence-

mantel passes to David...

remarkable leader
consolidates _ fs CES , ees

takes Jerusalem
Bui Ids | nation

interesting character —
Bathsheba - Uriah - Nathan

son dies

later internal revolt -

Absalom betrays - is killed by his own troops

Absolom, oh Absolom!

Let's look at how David is chosen

ee pack to 1 Samuel 16

Fliab - has® wnat if takes —

nothing about David commands nim but God sees heart
j. @. potential...
seg
David is handsom but that isn't the point -
eT, * .
he isn't King because of Tooks
God sees potential
deeper point is grace.

———

God's love not based on our productivity. .

ee ee

God sees potential in us, where there is no
evidence
We know the psychology of apace

Babies - thrive and jive -

_— a

or die without grace.
weight gain, sleep - if caressed
Cocaine babies - held and caressed —
we enable children to love by loving them.

eae”
In our most intimate relationships we know

that if everybody is keeping score - we're in

trouble.
=

iS Avs
someone has to love - with grace. Who ts, ret iv
y
Urban crisis - murder for shoes \

Clarence Page Editorial:

"Doyerty alone doas not Jead into crime. But those
who think they have no money ar na power
undoubtedly have a tough time feeling good about
themselves in a society that places so much value
on money and power.

"The pesuiting lack of self-esteem can result in
self-destruction, including drugs, crime, street
gangs or other hazardous temptations that rush in
to fill the self-worth vacuum....

"That might begin to explain,” says Page. “why
young men in Harlem have a higher death rate than
their counterparts in Bangladesh." } (Chicaco
Tejbune, 3/21/90]

when there is no grace in the system, | when
the traditional source of grace — namely stable,
Joving and accessible families - do not exist and

Fe

where secondary sources of grace - well funded,

Cel

safe and effective schools, and social services,

eyen churches - are not visible, accessible ar

don't exist, then we should not be surprised at not

only the inability to_i ve, put the inability to

care and the consequent absence of value about life
- any life.
We live ina state of grate - or we aren't

a

living much.

In the journey of life there have been people

for most of us, who had confidence in us: \who saw
. —
something in us no one else could see;\ Saw
a,

an anneal

something in us we Ourselves didn't know was there,
ee
had trouble believing was there.| We have been

blessed, most.gfusby peaple along the way_who in

lt
one way or another said “yes" to us, \nad confidence
See. ere

ee

in us and their confidegge had a powerful effect.

ey —

Almost in spite of ourselves we began to experience

a little self-confidence, a little self-esteem. \If

ee ele

the teacher thinks I can do it, maybe I can { maybe
rete,

I can play the solo, memorize the lines, hit the

Fad

ball, \run_for president \ She thinks I can do this:
eel -” ee,
bhinks I could write poetry, \do trigonometry,
wee, ‘stirrings ay
become an astronaut or a neurosurgeon...) Maybe

there is something here pretty important, at least

potential ly igor tant. \ they are gur saints —)those

?

9 , and wh aceful
cheerleaders who urged us on, and WNOSE grace
confidence in US gave US confidence in ourselves.
we are blessed by them along the way. ( We are
biessed by them stili.\ And the astonishing

assertion of Christianity is that even if you are

not blessed by people who love and accept you and
tod

see potential in you and have confidence in you:
EC ares,

ie,

even if you never have been niessed, there is one

whe Toves_you_and accepts you and knows everything
about you - aly your Maws and failures and
frailties - and stil] loves you, til _Lsees_your
potential, still has confidence in you.

One of the great ironies is that the religion

whose purpose if is to_announce this good news is
— el
often better at reminding us of our shortcomings

than reminding us of cur value: \morg.eloquent ‘in

describing our sin than our potential: \mare
effective in making_us feel guilty than giving us
confidence for the Journey.

The great tragedy is that tne Gospel is

presented @s_a courtroom drama and we are on trial

i)

-— rather than a reunjon with the one who loves us
unconditional iy.
To the psychology of grace, the relationship
Fie | ee crs
of grace, the politics of grace - we add the grace
ee inn,
of Jesus Christ which says that the one_who created
Dane ad Ak hininien ieninhrein,
you loves you and_accepts you and there_ig_nothing
you have ever done - or can do ~ that will change
that love and that acceptance.
Ch. you can hide from it. You can ignore it.
You can chocse to argue_with it and about it. | You

thr

can doubt it, disbelieve it and deny it. \ But you

eee
cannot change it\ You can live as if you don't
he —

matter to anyone, but it isn’t true because you da

matter to someone.\ You can live as if your life

has no value, but it isn’t true. \Your life is
valuable to God.
David, pack on the very edges of history, was

one of the first to learn it.| He was also a poet

and although we cannot Know for certain that he
actually wrote Psalms, many of them are attr ibuted

to him, including the most beloved of them all,

7

titted "A Psalm of David"...

And I Tike to think that the opening words:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shal] not
want..."
have something to do with that day he remembered

all his life, /when he was cut keeping his father's

| ei erraaell

sheep and old Samuel Tooked him in the eye, this
=e aad

eae

non-descript wisp of a boy, and said ~ ‘This is the
ee Yee

it

one.

Cn

And 1 like to remember that 1,000 years
_

Jater, when Jesus, who had made the blind see, and

the Tame walk, and the oppressed and beaten down,
————— - ee a

the unlovely and unloved, stand up straight and

tall... when he came riding inte the city of Daw

gepysatien one day, the crowds that came out to meet

to

-t- ‘\
: : ' rer tl
him a to the Son of David! re or

And T Tike to think that as he faced that ~ Ve

bravery... and as he died an almos intentional q ‘ yy \
death, alone, that there was a strong confidence LU ;
(vr

which came from his own faith that God’s love for
him was boundless.

And so, I like to think if is and will be for
each of us.

“Amazing Grace! gweet the sound,

That saved a wret¢h like me!
T once was lost, /but now am found.
Was blind, but now I see.”

Amen.

f/f

Journal -
—_
inventory of Grace
i fal .

My Saints —
(those who saw more in me than I saw of

myself.
Those who communicated Gospel to me...

Niscuss (3's)

Copies of “Amazing Grace"

—iei

$2.