Paul urged his readers to keep their sights on the kingdom of God, not the politics of the day. As for those in authority, he makes no bones about it: Pray for them. That's what he told Timothy; that's what I think he'd tell us today.
Paul encourages us to "pray for those in high places". Don't sit back and criticize them. Don't rubbish their policies or decisions. Pray for them. We may not always agree with them, but we can still take them to God in our prayers. We can go to God and ask him to give our leaders wisdom and understanding to act in a way that will bring peace.
When I decided to entitle my message today, "Resist Change," I thought, well now, Jim, you are just preaching to the choir. These are Lutherans; you don't have to tell them, "Resist Change."
Imago Dei: we are created in the image of God—in his own blessed image, he fashioned us. Frankly, sometimes we look quite a bit like God, and at other times we look very little like Him. But as you look around this room, you will see people who reflect something of God's image—more or less.
This is a happy time of year—for everyone except turkeys. We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving, and are now preparing to celebrate Christmas. The days are growing short, but Christmas brightens our nights. Children look forward to Christmas presents, and parents look forward to their children's joy. It is easy for us to be thankful at this time of year.
My guess is that we have more in common with Paul than we realize. We too have our thorns in the flesh. We've been beaten down a time or two. Look back over the journey of your life and you'll find some shipwrecks in your wake--some things you'd rather not talk about.
He took me by surprise—this man of privilege—this man whom I so envied—this man who had so much for which to be thankful. Now he was saying, "I don't feel thankful!" Those were terrible times! I could understand how he felt! And I can understand how we might not feel thankful at Thanksgiving. Life is not always easy. Times are not always good.
What is Grace? We talk about it. We sing about it. We say it's amazing! We even name our churches and our children for it. In 2003 and 2004 it was the 13th most popular name for baby girls. Grace is one of the most popular names for Methodist Churches. But what is it?
Paul does NOT say, "Finally beloved, whatever is tragic, whatever is scandalous, whatever is gruesome, whatever is criminal, whatever is threatening, whatever is despicable, whatever is lascivious, whatever is ugly, whatever is degrading, fill your thoughts with all these things."
I've been watching a small congregation of Hispanic Christians build a new church. They're doing the construction themselves.. Interestingly, even before they got a roof over their heads, they installed a sign for all to see. It says: "Jesus Viene," Jesus is coming. For many Christians, that's the primary message of the gospel: Jesus is coming.