Formed | Ash Wednesday 2026 | Trinity Sermons

Two decades ago, when I was on a trip to Kenya,

I had this pot made for me by a local artisan.

It's very special. She made it just for me. And

it has a special place in my office. It sits

there on my shelf. And I, of course, that pot,

as beautiful as it is, it didn't start out looking

that way. It started out more like this, as a

big lump of clay. that she probably yanked out

of a riverbed or something like that. And so

she would have had to go to work on this. She

would have, you know, pounded it. Because usually

what potters do is they start by pounding the

clay to kind of loosen it up and warm it up.

And then she would have pulled it to kind of

start to kind of create some general shape. kind

of probably using both hands, pressed it in to

try to create some contours. And then the pot

really starts to kind of take shape. And then

finally, she would, you know, do the fine work,

pinching in here and there. And actually, if

you look at this pot, this pot actually does

have a lot of fine work. And so it went from

that to this. It's certainly a beautiful thing.

But you have to remember that, after all, it's

just clay. It's just dirt. In fact, clay is like

dust. Clay is the most sedimentous, I think,

soil in all the world. It is so, so fine. When

it dries, it just blows around like dust. And

so Ash Wednesday is actually a very good day

for us to remember something. Not just, you know,

how we began, dust, and how we'll end. But during

this brief life that we live on this earth, we

also are formed and created into something beautiful

by God. In fact, this pot's story is really your

story and my story too. If you read in Genesis

Genesis 2:7

2, verse 7, it says that the Lord God formed

man from the soil of the ground and breathed

into his nostrils the breath of life and the

man became a living being. We're all made out

of dirt. We are all like dirt people. We're clay.

creatures, if you will. I want you to imagine

for a moment, there's God, you know, yanking

some soil out of the riverbed, some clay and

pounding Adam into existence and pulling, right?

And then pressing and then pinching in the finer

details till he's created this wonderful creature

that reflects the image of God. And then, of

course, God breathes life into Adam, his own

spirit. It's a wonderful, wonderful story. But

I should let you know, actually, something quite

interesting, that the word Adam, Adam, comes

from the Hebrew word Adama, which means soil

or dirt or, you know, dust or whatever, ground,

earth. And so very... Literally, the first human

being was named after the dirt. He was literally

dirt man. He was literally earthling. He was

clay creature. And the reason I keep coming back

to clay is because there's this other Hebrew

word, a dome. Which, you know, some scholars

say it means red, by the way. It means red. And

they say it sounds linguistically like the other.

And so it kind of hints of the red clay that

was apparently very prevalent in, you know, southern

Mesopotamia around the time that these, you know,

stories were being written. So there you have,

you have Adam. Adam made out of Adama, which

was a dome in color. If you don't like that sequence,

then how about this one? You can have a human

being. And you have the word humus. And obviously,

those two words come from the same root as well.

And humus, of course, is again, dirt. It's soil.

It's earth. You remember how at a funeral, we

always say, earth to earth, right? Ashes to ashes,

dust to dust. That's who we are. We are just

mud men and mud women. We're clay creatures.

If I was to say to you today after the service,

I would say, hey, mud man, you'd probably be

like, whoa, what are you doing? If I was to say,

hey, dirt person, you would think I was being

like really offensive. But it's not offensive

at all. That's who we are. We are God -breathed

dirt. We are, you know, balls of mud. that have

been formed into the image of God. And no, there

is something really wonderful about being a mud

man or a mud woman or a mud person. Three things

actually. First, it means you're not an accident.

If you come across something like this, you would

never say something like this just spontaneously

arose. No, this is no accident. Someone had to

create this. And if you ever have one of those

moments where you're like, I wonder if all this

is just a grand accident. I wonder if I'm just

the result of like millions and billions of like,

you know, spontaneous chemical reactions and

that we're all here just completely by accident.

It's a big cosmic mistake. No, no, no, no, no.

We're formed. We're mud people. So we're not

here by accident. We've been put together. And

that also means we all have a purpose, right?

Because if you look at this, you immediately

know it has a purpose. It's been made to do something,

right? Maybe this was made to hold water or maybe

it was made to carry grain. We used to use it

to hold dried flowers and stuff like that. Right

now, I keep a bunch of little knickknacks in

here. So you have a purpose as a mud person.

But here's perhaps the most hopeful thing about

being a clay creature. And that is you can change,

right? Because clay is malleable. It's formable.

And you may, you know, sometimes in your life,

you may say, oh gosh, I'm stuck, right? I can't

change. I'm all deformed. I'm all out of shape.

A whole bunch of things have happened to me.

And now I just feel completely out of sorts.

But guess what? Good news. You are a dama. You

can be formed. You can be reformed. You can be

transformed by God. It's just wonderful, wonderful

being made. of mud. But there's also a downside.

It's a dangerous side, even. And it's true, under

the right hands, this mud can be molded into

a thing of beauty. But in the wrong hands, it

can also be molded into something very warped

and misshapen and deformed, turned into things.

People can actually be turned into things that

people were never meant to be. And so while it's

great to be transformed and reformed and renewed

and all that, we can also be deformed. It all

depends really on two questions. Who is doing

the forming? And what are you being formed into?

Now, those two questions are really, really important

questions. They're really important questions

for us to ask today. They were also... Really

important questions that people were asking 2

,000 years ago. Now, we're kicking off today,

although it's Ash Wednesday, a new teaching series

which we're calling This is the Way. We're talking

about what does it mean to follow and live in

the way of Jesus. What I want to suggest to you

tonight is when Jesus called people to come and

follow him and be his disciples, what he was

really saying was this. Come and let me be the

one who forms you. Come and follow me and let

me be the one who transforms you and shapes you

into my image. Come, follow me, and let me make

something beautiful out of your life. Now, when

Jesus extended that invitation, come and let

me form you, I'm sure some people laughed it

off and some people surely ignored it, but other

people said, yes, that's what I've been looking

for. Yes, Jesus, I am clay in your hands. Shape

me, mold me, make me. Into your own likeness.

And that's actually what Jesus wants to form

us into. Jesus himself even said the student

is not above the teacher. Which means the student

doesn't tell the teacher what to do. Just like

the clay pot doesn't tell the potter what to

do. It works the other way around. The potter

does the work. The teacher does the work. And

what is the teacher doing? The teacher is training

up the student. So they will be like. the teacher.

So to be formed by Jesus is ultimately, get this,

to become more and more like Jesus. And sometimes

we get this mixed up in our heads and we think,

oh, if I want to be like Jesus, all I got to

do is imitate Jesus. I'll go around, do all the

things that Jesus did. Good luck with that. It's

actually, you know, admirable, but there is a

very big difference between imitation and formation.

Imitating Jesus is good, but what we're after

really in life is deeper, spiritual transformation

in our lives. You know, Dallas Willard put it

this way. He said, spiritual formation. is a

process of increasingly being possessed and permeated

by the character traits of Jesus. Spiritual formation

occurs when we allow Jesus to put his hands on

our life and do the work of shaping us. That's

the only way we become new people, really. But

here, again, is the thing. And whether you know

it or not, whether you like it or not, you're

always being formed. You're always being shaped.

By someone or something. You know, that's the

problem with being dirt people. That's the problem

with being mud women, mud people, mud men, whatever.

You know, maybe Jesus is the one who's shaping

you right now. And you feel like you're growing

more and more like Jesus. Or maybe it's someone

else. Or maybe it's something else that is shaping

you. It's not turning out so good. The point

is, we are all kind of clay under some potter's

hand. The question is not, am I a disciple? Of

course you're a disciple. The question is, whose

disciple are you? The question is not, am I being

formed? Yes, you are being formed, right? The

real question is, who is forming you? And what

are you being formed into? Okay? Now you might

say, Rob, come on. What are you talking about?

Nobody tells me how to live my life. I'm my own

person. I'm a self -made man, and I'm not being

formed or changed by anyone. Well, that sounds

great, but the truth is that's not how it works.

You don't just get to decide in your head what

you're going to be with your life, and poof,

oh, I want to be a pot. Poof, you're a pot. Oh,

I want to be a vase. Poof, you're a vase. People,

I mean, used to think that way. Self -actualization.

I think, therefore, I am. I can become whatever

I want to be, but the only problem is now we

know better. You cannot think your way. into

your own transformation. If you could think your

way into your own transformation, all you would

have to do is read a book on healthy eating and

you would never eat sugar again. But of course,

we love sugar. And that's because there's other

forces at work on our life. So the pot, no, the

pot doesn't create itself. Something is creating

it. There are forces that are shaping us, pounding

us, pulling us, pressing us, and pinching us.

But what are these forces? Well, listen, I've

given you some notes. I just thought I would

share with you, I think, four of the big forces

that are shaping your life today. And the first

one I say is that we are formed by the stories

we hear and the stories that we believe. In our

culture, we are constantly being told stories

about what life is all about, what money is all

about, what relationships are all about, what

sex is all about, what friends are all about,

what success looks like. These are stories. You

hear them all the time. What worth looks like,

what happiness looks like. These stories are

just Pounded and pounded and pounded into us

all the time. Maybe it's on TV. Maybe it's on

social media. Maybe it's on like advertisements.

They're pounding these stories into you all the

time. Someone once said that we're narrative

animals, human beings. We love stories. And so

there's some stories you believe and there's

some stories that you don't believe. Anyways,

they both shape you. There's stories that maybe

you hear at work. There's stories from school.

There's stories at home. They're pounding you,

right? And it's happening and it's happening

day by day right here. Here's a story about what's

important. Here's a story about what life's all

about. Here's a story about how you should live.

It just pounded, pounding, pounding into us again

and again. That's the first thing that's forming

us. But the second thing I want to mention is

we are formed by our habits. Right? It's true.

Researchers have proven that of all the things

that pull us in different directions, our habits

are among the most powerful forces in our lives.

Our daily habits pull us this way. Our daily

routines pull us that way. Our daily rituals

pull us this way. They are forming us. This scholar,

William James, says actually all our life, all

our life, so far as it has a definite formed,

is just a whole mass. of habits. Our habits just

pull us and pull us and pull us. So basically,

what we are is nothing more than the cumulative

effect of our daily and weekly habits. So you've

got habits that you have around how you spend

your time. They're pulling on you. You've got

habits about how you spend your money. Habits

around food. Habits around shopping. Habits around

free time, right? What's the first thing you

do every morning when you get out of bed? That's

a habit. That shapes you. What is the last thing

you do before you go to bed at night? That is

a habit. That shapes you. These things are always

pulling on you. Pulling on. And some of them

are good habits. Great. Some of them are bad

habits, right? But they're all working on us.

And it's funny. The thing we often think about

habits. is because they're outside us, they're

things we do outside of us, we think they don't

affect us in here. But habits have this way of

working in to the very core of who we are, shaping

our loves, shaping our longings, shaping us,

okay? But there's more. There's a couple other

things that definitely are shaping you each and

every day, and one is your relationships, right?

We are pressed, constantly pressed by certain

people. In relationships. We actually become

like the people. I think that we hang out with

the most. Have you ever noticed that? The people

you hang out with. Soon you're dressing like

them. You're listening to the same music. You

like the same food. You read the same books.

You vote for the same candidates. Whatever. Why

is that? It's because. Relationships are pressing

on you and forming you into something. Hey, it

could be good if they're good people. Good relationships

could be bad if they're bad relationships. The

people that you hang around with are determining

who you are becoming, right? The way that your

friends talk are pressing in on you. The way

that they behave is pressing in on you. Their

values are pressing in. Their priorities are

pressing in on you. Their attitudes press in

on you. Their decisions are pressing in on you.

And then finally, here's the last thing I want

to say that, you know, shaping us, you know.

Oh yeah, by the way, you might want to memorize

this proverb if you're thinking about your relationships.

Those who are wise walk with the wise, but a

companion of fools suffers harm, right? The people

you hang around with are affecting who you are

becoming. But the last piece that impacts your

formation, is what you might just call your environment.

As soon as you walk out of this church, you're

walking into a world that is full of... little

pinches. The world is constantly pinching you,

touching you, poking you, prodding you, trying

to change your ideas, trying to change your priorities,

right? You know, our environment around us, you

know, pinches us and say, you know, live this

way. It says, believe this way. It pinches you

here. Spend your money this way. Dress this way.

Behave this way. Talk this way. Whatever. You

know, the city of Mississauga is like a school.

And every time you walk out the door, the teacher

is teaching you. you. It's instructing you and

telling you how to live your life. I think actually

social media is probably its own environment.

How could it not be? Every minute of screen time

is pinching you. Every share, every like, every

snap, every follow, every sub. Hours and hours

a day. That's our environment. And you can bet

it's forming you into something. So, there you

got it. What are they? There are stories, habits,

relationships, and environment. They're all sculpting

us, forming us into a certain type of human being.

And over time, it's going to happen. You don't

even have to try. You just walk out the door.

It'll happen. Go about your day tomorrow, and

all these forces will be working on you, whether

you know it or not. And who's it turning you

into? And now you might freak out at this point

and say, oh my gosh, I can't let this happen.

I have to plug my ears so I don't hear the stories

of culture. I don't want that to happen to me.

And I have to tie my hands behind my back because

I don't want to get into bad habits. And I want

to turn away and shun all culture. And I'll turn

my back on my friends and all those relationships.

Maybe that's the way I can resist. Maybe that's

the way I can grow more like Jesus. But we already

talked about that. That doesn't work. The pot

can't form itself. It's not something you can

do. But here is something you can do. To all

the mud people, to all the clay creatures out

there, there is good news and here is the good

news. Even though you cannot defeat the powers

that form you, you can choose the person who

forms you. That is within your power. You can

make a decision today. To place yourself under

the hands of a different potter, of a different

sculptor, and let him go to work on you. And

that person, of course, I would say to you, needs

to be Jesus. Because here's the thing. Jesus

is not just a loving Savior. He is also... A

brilliant sculptor. And because Jesus knows that

things like stories and habits and culture and

all that stuff form us, guess what Jesus does?

First he says, hey, hey, hey, I know that stories,

I know that you guys love stories. Well, here,

he says, instead of being shaped by the stories

that culture teaches you, Jesus says, instead,

be shaped by my stories. Be shaped by my teaching.

Enough of the world stories. We've heard enough

of that junk. We're tired of having them pounded

into us. And Jesus says, let me pound into you

some new stories. And you guys know this, that

Jesus went around and he was always telling stories.

And in fact, it's shocking that in Matthew's

gospel, it says Jesus always used stories and

illustrations when he was speaking to the crowd.

It goes so far as to say he never spoke to them

without using these little parables and stories.

It's like Jesus says, I'm going to shape you

and I'm going to shape you by telling you stories.

You know, our world, for example, tells you a

story. The bigger is better. Jesus says, let

me tell you another story. It's a story about

the smallest seed, the smallest seed in the whole

wide world, but it grows into a great big bush

and all the birds of the land come and sit in

it. Now that is a different story. Or the world

would tell us that the more wealth you have,

the better you are. Jesus says, let me tell you

a different story. Let me show you something.

See this woman who just put two coins into the

treasury? It was all that she had. She gave away

everything she had, and yet she's the richest

person of them all. You get that story into you,

that is going to change the kind of person you

are becoming. Or Jesus might say, hey, the world

tells you it's really important that you've got

to hang out with the cool crowd. Jesus says,

let me tell you a parable. Let me tell you a

story about a guy who throws a party. invites

all the misfits, and he invites all the losers,

and it's the greatest party in the kingdom of

God, right? Let these stories pound into you,

right? And they are going to shape you into a

very different kind of person. Instead of being

deformed by the world's stories, you can be reformed

by Jesus' teachings. That means we have to, of

course, read the Bible. read the Bible to our

children, just really dive deep into the stories

of Jesus. Jesus is brilliant. He knows that's

how we learn, so that's how he teaches. But secondly,

he's so smart that he also knows We're so formed

by habits that he says, hey, let me teach you

a different kind of set of habits. We call these

habits spiritual practices. Okay, so spiritual

practices or spiritual disciplines are like different

kinds of habits. So for example, some of you

may have developed a really bad habit. You work

way too much. You're constantly working. So Jesus

says, let me teach you a habit. It's called Sabbath.

You take one day off every week and you just

delight in God and you rest. Try that habit on

for. starters. Or some of you have a really bad

habit and you wake up in the morning, the first

thing you do is you reach for your phone and

Jesus says, let me teach you a different habit.

It's called morning prayer, right? You see, he's

pulling us. He's pulling us. It's called morning

prayer. And you spend the first part of your

day actually praying to God and reading the Bible.

And that's a very different habit. That'll shape

the person you're becoming. Or some of us, you

know, for example, we're so concerned what other

people think of us. And so Jesus says, hey, listen,

get off social media. Let me teach you another

habit. It's called solitude. I want you to go

off by yourself every once in a while with no

one around you and leave your phone at home and

just listen and pray and remember who you really

are. Let me tell you who you really are. These

are the habits that take a lifetime to learn,

but they pull on us and they are going to shape

us day after day after day. All those bad habits

that deform us, these habits are going to transform

us. It's these spiritual disciplines. And by

the way, this Lent. As a whole church, what we're

going to be doing is building a rhythm of these

spiritual practices together. It's called a rule

of life. We'll talk more about that later. But

by working through this little pocket guide that

we're going to give all of you today as you make

your way out of church, it's... The idea is that

by the time we get to Easter, you will have created

your own little guide to how to live out these

spiritual habits and practices in a way that's

going to work for you and your schedule and your

life. Okay? The third thing, Jesus is so smart.

Jesus knows that we are formed by relationships.

So Jesus says, hey, let me give you a brand new

set of relationships. It's called Christian community.

Put yourself into this thing called the church.

Press yourself into Bible studies. Press yourself

into life groups. Not because these people are

perfect people. We're not perfect people. But

because it is actually impossible to be transformed

on your own. Jesus did not have a disciple. He

had disciples. Because it's in community, as

you press up against each other, that yes, your

imperfections get exposed. But your rough edges

get smoothed out. And it's together that you

learn to follow the way of Jesus. And lastly,

and lastly, Jesus knows that when you head out

into that environment out there, our city, our

neighbors, social media, they're all poking,

they're all prodding, they're all pinching us

into something. So Jesus says, let me give you

something that's going to change every single

environment you ever walk into. Let my Holy Spirit

go with you. Let my spirit fill you and it will

transform the entire world around you. Paul says,

walk habitually in the Holy Spirit. Seek him

and be responsive to his guidance. Let the Holy

Spirit be the thing that pinches you and prods

you and pokes you wherever you go. Walk in the

Spirit. Keep in step with the Spirit. And that

means no matter where you go in this city or

in this world, the Holy Spirit is going to go

with you. So, to all the Adama in the room, To

all the clay creatures, Jesus says, come under

my hands. Let me pound you. Let me pull you.

Let me press you. And let me pinch you into something

beautiful. And bit by bit, you are going to be

formed into the likeness of Jesus himself. Because

remember, the student, when it's fully trained,

will become like the teacher. This plot here

took like probably a week. For that sculptor

to make. But what we're talking about. That's

going to take a lifetime. But under his hands.

And day by day. Week by week. Year by year. Decade

by decade. Balls of clay. Become beautiful vases.

And dirt people. Mud women. Mud men. Clay creatures.

Become children of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.