Nathan E. Lewis

(sermon preached by Nathan E. Lewis to Chehalem Presbyterian Church in Newberg,Oregon and to Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, Oregon on January 7, 2007) Continue reading »

Advent Season 2006 - Sermon Series by Nathan E. Lewis
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Remembering the Covenant
Deuteronomy 27
We have arrived at the main section of Deuteronomy prompting me to title my sermon series, “Remembering the Covenant.” The theme of remembrance is strong in Deuteronomy. Moses instructs Israel to uses visual, artistic memorials. Large stones are to be positioned throughout the Promised Land. Israel is to plaster the stones, making them smooth surfaces upon which the law of God is to be written. Moses is a catalyst for written language added to an oral tradition. He is also a pioneer in script as an art form. The classic art of Islam is confined exclusively to the Arabic script. It is a beautifully intricate art form. The origins of this art form are much older than the founding of Islam. The origins are traced to Moses. The intricacy of this genre of art often disguises the words and thus the meaning. At first glance the pleasing pattern, the graceful swirls and shapes command attention. The viewer must work to discover the word and identify the message. In (8) Moses instructs Israel to clearly write the law of God upon these stones. The primary purpose of this art form is to present the law of God clearly, as a remembrance in public space. Continue reading »

“The Two Mirrors” Romans 4: 13-16
(a sermon preached by Nathan E. Lewis on Reformation Sunday 2006)

We have been making our way through the Book of Deuteronomy, all 34 chapters, and I must say that the weight of the Law has been overwhelming for me. Moses convincingly presents God’s law as good for us. The Law does deter evil and it does promote right behavior. The Law also drives us to believe that Jesus Christ is our only hope for righteousness and favor before a holy God. While the Law serves all of this good work in our lives, it is nonetheless powerless to save us, to actually produce perfect obedience in our lives. God did not design the Law to be our Savior. Rather, God designed the Law to show us our great need for a Savior.
The Law is like a mirror. If I look into the mirror, I see myself, warts and all. The mirror renders the clearest, most honest reflection of me possible. I look into this mirror and there is no question that I am a member of the fallen human race in desperate need of a makeover. Continue reading »

“The Covenant: Kind Justice” Deuteronomy 24: 5 - 25:4

In a number of our English translations, the editors have organized sections under descriptive headings. Most of these headings I find to be helpful. Our text for this morning is titled, “Miscellaneous Laws.” I do not find this title to be particularly helpful. The editors are uncertain as to how Moses has organized these sections. Perhaps he has simply thrown some laws together, uncertain himself as to how to categorize them. Moses is ancient. His writing and his addresses do not conform to Western models, Classic or modern. Some of the confusion of categorization results from us thinking that his writing is a book of case law. At least we would expect Moses to categorize all of these detailed laws under the Ten Commandments. But he does not attempt such nice and neat organization. Continue reading »

“The Covenant: Divorce” Deuteronomy 24:1-4

The prevailing view today is that divorce is on the rise, and that in our lifetime the institution of the family has been assaulted like never before in human history. While I do believe that the institution of marriage and family is presently in trouble, allow me to paint a slightly different historical assessment: The institutions of marriage and family have been in deep trouble from the very beginning of time. Some of us cringe at the no-fault laws in Oregon. But in the great Egyptian Empire in Moses’ day, the laws allowed a husband to divorce his wife on account of her bad breath. If the choices are no-fault laws or the citing of petty imperfections, I’ll choose no-fault. The first century laws of the Roman Empire presented marriage as the intent of two people to live together. Divorce was simply a declaration of the husband’s desire to no longer live with his wife. This declaration need not occur in a court of law, but before any seven witnesses. Therefore, divorce was common practice. Continue reading »

“The Covenant: Clean Camp, Clean Relationships” Deuteronomy 23: 9-25
We are accustomed to thinking of the holiness of God in lofty terms. When we think of our holiness, we most likely think of virtuous living. We think that our holiness is defined by moral purity. But God’s law found in Deuteronomy 23 defines our holiness in part to be hygienic, to be environmental purity! One of the main points of our entire study of Deuteronomy is that God’s law is good for us, addressing every area of our lives. Now it must be said that God’s holiness informs all areas of our lives. God’s holiness is not merely about our spirits or our minds. It is also about our bodies and the environment. God’s holiness informs our basest and most regular bodily functions. Continue reading »

“The Covenant: Access to the Assembly of the Lord” Deuteronomy 23:1-8
(a sermon preached by nathan lewis at Evergreen Church in Beaverton, Oregon, August 13, 2006)

In 1970 The Five Man Electrical Band sang:
Sign Sign everywhere a sign 
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind 
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign
And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you’ll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, me working for you
woah!
Sign Sign everywhere a sign 
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind 
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign

And the sign said anybody caught trespassing would be shot on sight 
So I jumped on the fence and yelled at the house, Hey! what gives you the right 
To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in 
If God was here, he’d tell you to your face, man you’re some kinda sinner
Sign Sign everywhere a sign 
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind 
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign
Now, hey you Mister! can’t you read, you got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat 
You can’t even watch, no you can’t eat, you ain’t suppose to be here 
Sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside Uh!
Sign Sign everywhere a sign 
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind 
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign

And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray 
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, 
I didn’t have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign 
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I’m alive and doing fine
What do you think should be the rules for access into the church? Do you find, at first glance, these laws in Deuteronomy 23 to be strange access codes? Continue reading »

Sermons preached by Nathan Lewis at Evergreen Church in Beaverton and Chehalem Valley Church in Newberg, Oregon, 2006
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sermons preached by Nathan Lewis at Chehalem Valley Mission in Newberg and Evergreen Church in Beaverton,
2006 Continue reading »