http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526 A place for John to do a little Monday (or later in the week) quarterbacking on Sunday's talk. And a place for other thoughts on his quest to be a part of a community of imperfect people who are engaged in Jesus' mission for the world. And a place to interact with others on a similar quest. Radiant WebTools The writer of the part of our Bible we call 1 John was most likely John one of the earliest followers of Jesus. 1 John was most likely written in the in the last decade of the 1st century when John was in his 80's or 90's to ekklesias that he had helped to launch. This is a follower of Jesus who was with Jesus from the beginning of Jesus public ministry through the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, and has watched the growth of the Jesus revolution over its first 60 some years. This sermonic letter, we call 1 John then is in many ways a summation of John's life experience of following Jesus. John, then, is speaking from experience when he writes in 3:1: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! John here is getting at the center of things, God as Father has lavished love. God has not been stingy with love. The result of this lavish love is that we may be called children of creation's Creator. John goes on to lay out how this has happened in 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. From Genesis 3 on the Bible deals with the reality that though we were meant for a relationship as children with our creator we have chosen to separated ourselves from our loving Father. This is sin. The Greek word is harmatia - which is a term drawn from archery and it means to miss the mark. The mark we were meant 'to hit' was that of deep connected relationship with our loving father. We, humans, however, have chosen distrust and have walked away from this relationship. We as the narrative of Genesis 3 tells us have hidden ourselves from God. John then brings in the Biblical theme that there is an enemy of God and humanity who desires to keep the separation between God and humanity – the one the Bible names as the devil or satan. John writes, the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The work of the evil one is to accuse people and keep them separated from God. Biblically speaking humanity listened (and listens) to the evil one and has gone first in separating from God. But God has moved towards humanity. God has gone first in bringing reconciliation. Even in the Garden narrative as the humans hide, God moves towards them calling out 'Where are you.' This theme continues throughout the Biblie of God seeking out humanity. Jesus cam to destroy the work of the devil. While the work of the devil is cultivating the chasm between God and humanity, Jesus shows us that God is moving towards humanity. God is like a woman looking for a lost coin, a hen longing to gather her chicks, a shepherd looking for a lost sheep, a Father looking longingly down the road for a lost son. While the devil wants alienation and separation for the human race – the Son of God appeared to destroy this alienation. Jesus destroyed the work of the devil by entering into the falleness of this world and absorbing the work of the devil upon himself in death on the cross– letting evil do its worst – but emerging victorious on through the resurrection, having beaten the devil and death. And in his death in resurrection making us the children of God – so it is no wonder that John writes what love has the Father lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God. The film The Impossible works as a metaphor for the heart of God. God has entered into the storm, just as Maria is in the storm with Lucas. The fall effects God, God in Jesus bears the effects of the fall, just as the wave tumbles Maria. But in the storm God is calling out our name, just as Maria calls out for Lucas.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qryJaTbASs0 May we truly see how great the Father's love for us that has been lavished on us. The writer of the part of our Bible we call 1 John was most likely John one of the earliest followers of Jesus. 1 John was most likely written in the in the last decade of the 1st century when John was in his 80's or 90's to ekklesias that he had helped to launch. This is a follower of Jesus who was with Jesus from the beginning of Jesus public ministry through the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, and has watched the growth of the Jesus revolution over its first 60 some years. This sermonic letter, we call 1 John then is in many ways a summation of John's life experience of following Jesus. John, then, is speaking from experience when he writes in 3:1: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! John here is getting at the center of things, God as Father has lavished love. God has not been stingy with love. The result of this lavish love is that we may be called children of creation's Creator. John goes on to lay out how this has happened in 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. From Genesis 3 on the Bible deals with the reality that though we were meant for a relationship as children with our creator we have chosen to separated ourselves from our loving Father. This is sin. The Greek word is harmatia - which is a term drawn from archery and it means to miss the mark. The mark we were meant 'to hit' was that of deep connected relationship with our loving father. We, humans, however, have chosen distrust and have walked away from this relationship. We as the narrative of Genesis 3 tells us have hidden ourselves from God. John then brings in the Biblical theme that there is an enemy of God and humanity who desires to keep the separation between God and humanity – the one the Bible names as the devil or satan. John writes, the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The work of the evil one is to accuse people and keep them separated from God. Biblically speaking humanity listened (and listens) to the evil one and has gone first in separating from God. But God has moved towards humanity. God has gone first in bringing reconciliation. Even in the Garden narrative as the humans hide, God moves towards them calling out 'Where are you.' This theme continues throughout the Biblie of God seeking out humanity. Jesus cam to destroy the work of the devil. While the work of the devil is cultivating the chasm between God and humanity, Jesus shows us that God is moving towards humanity. God is like a woman looking for a lost coin, a hen longing to gather her chicks, a shepherd looking for a lost sheep, a Father looking longingly down the road for a lost son. While the devil wants alienation and separation for the human race – the Son of God appeared to destroy this alienation. Jesus destroyed the work of the devil by entering into the falleness of this world and absorbing the work of the devil upon himself in death on the cross– letting evil do its worst – but emerging victorious on through the resurrection, having beaten the devil and death. And in his death in resurrection making us the children of God – so it is no wonder that John writes what love has the Father lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God. The film The Impossible works as a metaphor for the heart of God. God has entered into the storm, just as Maria is in the storm with Lucas. The fall effects God, God in Jesus bears the effects of the fall, just as the wave tumbles Maria. But in the storm God is calling out our name, just as Maria calls out for Lucas.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qryJaTbASs0 May we truly see how great the Father's love for us that has been lavished on us. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=41613 41613 Wed, 15 May 2013 09:55:00 +0000 John was an early follower of Jesus who had completely centered his life around Jesus and was working to center the life of his community around Jesus. He begins his sermonic letter by focusing on Jesus - 'that which was from the beginning.' As the letter progresses, he encourages the communities of Jesus that he helped plant. He encourages them to recognize that any teaching that denies that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ) is actually anti-Messiah (antichrist). Messiah means anointed one. In the thinking of ancient Israel, the people who were anointed were: the prophet – who spoke for God; the priest who was the intermediary between the people and God; and the King who led the people as God's co-regent. Not recognizing Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King is to be antichrist. In other words - Jesus is the center. But, John is not simply giving negative teaching of what to avoid he is encouraging the community to experience eternal life: 'As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.' What they had heard from the beginning was Jesus. What John is pointing them to again now is Jesus. John here speaks of remaining or abiding in Jesus – or in other words being deeply and richly connected to Jesus. He goes on to write that the way the community will be connected is through the anointing they received: As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. The anointing John is speaking of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to his earliest followers: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. This fulfilled an ancient promise that God had made through the prophet Jeremiah: This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the Lord. John here is saying that because Jesus has given the community the gift of the Holy Spirit, that together and personally they will experience and know God. Biblically speaking knowing is tied to direct connection. It is different from knowing about. We can speak to each other about Jesus, and it is necessary and good to encourage each other to move toward Jesus. But eternal life is not merely knowing about Jesus. It i sknowing Jesus. May we be a community that knows Jesus and experiences the life that only he offers. John was an early follower of Jesus who had completely centered his life around Jesus and was working to center the life of his community around Jesus. He begins his sermonic letter by focusing on Jesus - 'that which was from the beginning.' As the letter progresses, he encourages the communities of Jesus that he helped plant. He encourages them to recognize that any teaching that denies that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ) is actually anti-Messiah (antichrist). Messiah means anointed one. In the thinking of ancient Israel, the people who were anointed were: the prophet – who spoke for God; the priest who was the intermediary between the people and God; and the King who led the people as God's co-regent. Not recognizing Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King is to be antichrist. In other words - Jesus is the center. But, John is not simply giving negative teaching of what to avoid he is encouraging the community to experience eternal life: 'As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.' What they had heard from the beginning was Jesus. What John is pointing them to again now is Jesus. John here speaks of remaining or abiding in Jesus – or in other words being deeply and richly connected to Jesus. He goes on to write that the way the community will be connected is through the anointing they received: As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. The anointing John is speaking of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised to his earliest followers: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. This fulfilled an ancient promise that God had made through the prophet Jeremiah: This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,' declares the Lord. John here is saying that because Jesus has given the community the gift of the Holy Spirit, that together and personally they will experience and know God. Biblically speaking knowing is tied to direct connection. It is different from knowing about. We can speak to each other about Jesus, and it is necessary and good to encourage each other to move toward Jesus. But eternal life is not merely knowing about Jesus. It i sknowing Jesus. May we be a community that knows Jesus and experiences the life that only he offers. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=41492 41492 Mon, 6 May 2013 12:46:00 +0000 The book/letter we have in our Bibles titled 1 John was most likely written by John the disciple, who most likely also wrote the gospel entitled John. It is most likely this John, who described himself as the disciple Jesus loved, who wrote a sermonic letter to an early band of Jesus followers in Asia Minor, most likely in the 90's of the first century. When he wrote he would have been the oldest follower of Jesus and the last living member of the 12. He wrote from a long lifetime of experience in following Jesus. To this early band of Jesus followers he wrote this: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-16. We humans have been given the label homo sapiens – wise human. In essence the view is that what makes us human is our ability to reason. A number of people who reflect deeply on what it means to be human would certainly agree that rational thinking is certainly a part of what it means to be human, but that rational thinking may not touch on what is most deeply true about us. They would say that it might be more accurate to speak of human persons as lovers -that we are as much our loves as we are our rational thoughts. John write to not love the world. On Sunday we noted that John could mean three things when he speaks of the world: 1. He could be speaking of the physical universe. 2. He could be speaking of the people of the this world. 3. He could be speaking of world systems. This would be similar in meaning to what we mean when we say, 'It is the way of the world,' or 'money makes the world go round.' We are speaking of systems. John addresses three 'loves' or desires that are a part of world systems. The first are the desires of the flesh. A significant part of this world system is the desire to achieve security or meaning through the accumulation of wealth or property. The ancient prophet had warned against this when he wrote: 'Woe to you who add house to house…' To be clear having material possesions is not wrong, and the Bible speaks of them as a blessing. And even the desire for material possesions is not wrong. What this world system does, however, is promise that somehow we will get life from the possession. Then we begin to attach to the possession the ability to give us life, while the Bible is clear that only the living God will give us life. And as I noted on Sunday, I am saying this is me. I have somewhere within in me a default belief that life and happiness are to be found in the next book, or project…etc. So while I might not add house to house. I certainly do add book to book. It is difficult for me to even think about going to the beach without at least three books in tow, plus possibly my laptop; definitely my body board; probably a kite; definitely at least one Frisbee; for sure something to dig with; and possibly a fishing pole. It is as if within me there is this certainty that happiness is somewhere to be had in one of those items… I'm not sure which it will be, but it is one of those items. This is a part of the desires of the flesh. John is inviting me to turn from that desire. The second love or desire that John addresses is the lust of the eyes. This desire is catered to in many forms of advertising, but is perhaps most clearly seen in our current society in the pornography industry. This industry is ubiquitous: 'In the last 150 years, pornography has ridden on the heels of new technology, from the photograph to the film projector, from VHS to DVDs, from the World Wide Web to smartphones. 'You name it,' Brown says, 'pornography planted its big flag there first, or at least shortly thereafter.'' (Taken from Your Brain on Porn a free publication of Covenant Eyes – please contact me via email johnwest@vinesouth.com if you would like to read the whole report and I would be happy to send it to you). As a culture our appetite seems nearly insatiable. John in his sermonic letter says to not love this world system. The third desire or love that John says to avoid is the pride of life. One way this manifests in our culture is the love of being right, or being a part of a group that we perceive is right over against other groups. Now obviously we should not purposely be a part of groups that our purposely wrong or deceived. It is a good desire to be a part of group that is seeking to believe and live the right way, but there is a grave danger to our soul when we try to get life from being a part of the right group. When we take pride in belonging to that group - when we take pride and attempt to draw life from accomplishments and group membership rather than drawing life from the living God – our souls are in danger. John points out that the biggest problem with these desires is that they pass away. On Sunday we talked a little about Beanie Babies. Remember them? For awhile there was within our nation a deep desire in some quarters for Beanie Babies. There was a desire to the point that these $5 stuffed animals were sold for up to $1600. That desire has passed, because the Beanies didn't ultimately satisfy. Which leads to something crucial: all our desire are pointing to a deep truth about our souls – namely this: we were made for communion with the Living God and nothing else will satisfy. C.S. Lewis put it this way: 'It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.' And Blaise Pascal this way: 'What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in us a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This we try in vain to fill with everything around us,… since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself' Again in other words – only the Living God will satisfy. Our desires are pointing to our deepest desire – the Living God who made us. John tells us that the desires of the World systems will pass, but that the one who does the will of God will live forever. The will of God is knowing the Living God and Jesus Christ whom he sent (John 17:3). May we be the people who recognize that our desires, our insatiable hungers will only be satisfied by the living God. The book/letter we have in our Bibles titled 1 John was most likely written by John the disciple, who most likely also wrote the gospel entitled John. It is most likely this John, who described himself as the disciple Jesus loved, who wrote a sermonic letter to an early band of Jesus followers in Asia Minor, most likely in the 90's of the first century. When he wrote he would have been the oldest follower of Jesus and the last living member of the 12. He wrote from a long lifetime of experience in following Jesus. To this early band of Jesus followers he wrote this: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-16. We humans have been given the label homo sapiens – wise human. In essence the view is that what makes us human is our ability to reason. A number of people who reflect deeply on what it means to be human would certainly agree that rational thinking is certainly a part of what it means to be human, but that rational thinking may not touch on what is most deeply true about us. They would say that it might be more accurate to speak of human persons as lovers -that we are as much our loves as we are our rational thoughts. John write to not love the world. On Sunday we noted that John could mean three things when he speaks of the world: 1. He could be speaking of the physical universe. 2. He could be speaking of the people of the this world. 3. He could be speaking of world systems. This would be similar in meaning to what we mean when we say, 'It is the way of the world,' or 'money makes the world go round.' We are speaking of systems. John addresses three 'loves' or desires that are a part of world systems. The first are the desires of the flesh. A significant part of this world system is the desire to achieve security or meaning through the accumulation of wealth or property. The ancient prophet had warned against this when he wrote: 'Woe to you who add house to house…' To be clear having material possesions is not wrong, and the Bible speaks of them as a blessing. And even the desire for material possesions is not wrong. What this world system does, however, is promise that somehow we will get life from the possession. Then we begin to attach to the possession the ability to give us life, while the Bible is clear that only the living God will give us life. And as I noted on Sunday, I am saying this is me. I have somewhere within in me a default belief that life and happiness are to be found in the next book, or project…etc. So while I might not add house to house. I certainly do add book to book. It is difficult for me to even think about going to the beach without at least three books in tow, plus possibly my laptop; definitely my body board; probably a kite; definitely at least one Frisbee; for sure something to dig with; and possibly a fishing pole. It is as if within me there is this certainty that happiness is somewhere to be had in one of those items… I'm not sure which it will be, but it is one of those items. This is a part of the desires of the flesh. John is inviting me to turn from that desire. The second love or desire that John addresses is the lust of the eyes. This desire is catered to in many forms of advertising, but is perhaps most clearly seen in our current society in the pornography industry. This industry is ubiquitous: 'In the last 150 years, pornography has ridden on the heels of new technology, from the photograph to the film projector, from VHS to DVDs, from the World Wide Web to smartphones. 'You name it,' Brown says, 'pornography planted its big flag there first, or at least shortly thereafter.'' (Taken from Your Brain on Porn a free publication of Covenant Eyes – please contact me via email johnwest@vinesouth.com if you would like to read the whole report and I would be happy to send it to you). As a culture our appetite seems nearly insatiable. John in his sermonic letter says to not love this world system. The third desire or love that John says to avoid is the pride of life. One way this manifests in our culture is the love of being right, or being a part of a group that we perceive is right over against other groups. Now obviously we should not purposely be a part of groups that our purposely wrong or deceived. It is a good desire to be a part of group that is seeking to believe and live the right way, but there is a grave danger to our soul when we try to get life from being a part of the right group. When we take pride in belonging to that group - when we take pride and attempt to draw life from accomplishments and group membership rather than drawing life from the living God – our souls are in danger. John points out that the biggest problem with these desires is that they pass away. On Sunday we talked a little about Beanie Babies. Remember them? For awhile there was within our nation a deep desire in some quarters for Beanie Babies. There was a desire to the point that these $5 stuffed animals were sold for up to $1600. That desire has passed, because the Beanies didn't ultimately satisfy. Which leads to something crucial: all our desire are pointing to a deep truth about our souls – namely this: we were made for communion with the Living God and nothing else will satisfy. C.S. Lewis put it this way: 'It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.' And Blaise Pascal this way: 'What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in us a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This we try in vain to fill with everything around us,… since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself' Again in other words – only the Living God will satisfy. Our desires are pointing to our deepest desire – the Living God who made us. John tells us that the desires of the World systems will pass, but that the one who does the will of God will live forever. The will of God is knowing the Living God and Jesus Christ whom he sent (John 17:3). May we be the people who recognize that our desires, our insatiable hungers will only be satisfied by the living God. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=41404 41404 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:36:00 +0000 On Sunday we launched our new series on 1 John by looking at chapter 1 as we have it in our Bibles. This would perhaps be a good place to remind ourselves that the original work was in Greek and did not have chapter or verse headings. Our chapter and verse are later additions. The work is best read as a whole. I can not highly enough recommend reading 1 John in its entirety in one sitting. Of course on Sunday mornings we need to look at smaller chunks. At the outset 1 John was most likely originally read out loud to gathered groups of Jesus followers. Probably first in Asia minor around Ephesus and then eventually wherever Jesus followers gathered. It was most likely, though not certainly (the writer never self identifies nor do the writer say to whom they are writing), written by the same person who wrote the gospel of John, and perhaps Revelation. This person was probably John, one of Jesus' earliest followers and one of his first 12 apostles. For simplicity in writing and speaking throughout this series, I will refer to the human author as 'John.' John begins by asserting that he was an eyewitness to that 'which was from the beginning.' In other words he saw Jesus, he heard Jesus, he touched Jesus. He was a witness to be trusted regarding Jesus. John also makes use of a number of related metaphors: light and dark; lies and truth; life and death. Perhaps the key thing to be noticed and observed in the first part of 1 John is the emphasis on confession of sin. In verse eight John writes that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and then in verse 10 if we claim to be without sin that we are in effect calling God a liar. These two verses bookend John's statement that if we confess our sins we are cleansed from our sins. What John is driving at in this section is that he is an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. Jesus' life and death is a light that shines (if we allow it) on our lives and opens the way to life and fellowship with God and others. We can however refuse to enter the light. Refusing to enter would be denying our sin. It would be continuing to pretend that we have not sinned. It would be continuing to pretend that we can actually be our own god. That we do not need forgiveness – John would call this walking in the dark - self-deception and calling God a liar. We can ignore our sin, but this only leaves us self-deceived and in the dark. The way forward is to confess our sins – stepping into the light – and receiving Jesus' love. I believe we all have a very human tendency to ignore, deny or minimize our sin ( I think we have this tendency in other areas besides sin – like we might ignore things that need to be done on our vehicle – this won't make them go away – or we might ignore indicators of physical sickness – or relational difficulties – this denial and avoidance will not make the problem go away). We like our parents in the garden want to hide (and then after we have been found to shift blame). There is something wonderfully freeing about the invitation that John writes in this passage to confess – to simply say yes I have sinned and to step into the loving light of God and to allow that light to transform us. On Sunday I mentioned the apocryphal story of the person who sent letters to 12 public officials that simply said 'All is discovered – flee at once' and all did. A little web research (and if the web is not reliable what is?) revealed that this story has been told as relating to Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain and a little girl. In the little girl story she sends the message to twelve local pastors on a Saturday night, and none of them show up for Sunday morning – ouch! The story probably did not actually happen, but it does tell us something deeply true about how we perceive discovery of our sin – we want to flee. I'm convinced that the good news of Jesus is this, 'All has been discovered, step into the light and come to the table I have prepared for you.' We step into the light by confessing and receiving the gift of forgiveness. May we be the people that step into the light! On Sunday we launched our new series on 1 John by looking at chapter 1 as we have it in our Bibles. This would perhaps be a good place to remind ourselves that the original work was in Greek and did not have chapter or verse headings. Our chapter and verse are later additions. The work is best read as a whole. I can not highly enough recommend reading 1 John in its entirety in one sitting. Of course on Sunday mornings we need to look at smaller chunks. At the outset 1 John was most likely originally read out loud to gathered groups of Jesus followers. Probably first in Asia minor around Ephesus and then eventually wherever Jesus followers gathered. It was most likely, though not certainly (the writer never self identifies nor do the writer say to whom they are writing), written by the same person who wrote the gospel of John, and perhaps Revelation. This person was probably John, one of Jesus' earliest followers and one of his first 12 apostles. For simplicity in writing and speaking throughout this series, I will refer to the human author as 'John.' John begins by asserting that he was an eyewitness to that 'which was from the beginning.' In other words he saw Jesus, he heard Jesus, he touched Jesus. He was a witness to be trusted regarding Jesus. John also makes use of a number of related metaphors: light and dark; lies and truth; life and death. Perhaps the key thing to be noticed and observed in the first part of 1 John is the emphasis on confession of sin. In verse eight John writes that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and then in verse 10 if we claim to be without sin that we are in effect calling God a liar. These two verses bookend John's statement that if we confess our sins we are cleansed from our sins. What John is driving at in this section is that he is an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. Jesus' life and death is a light that shines (if we allow it) on our lives and opens the way to life and fellowship with God and others. We can however refuse to enter the light. Refusing to enter would be denying our sin. It would be continuing to pretend that we have not sinned. It would be continuing to pretend that we can actually be our own god. That we do not need forgiveness – John would call this walking in the dark - self-deception and calling God a liar. We can ignore our sin, but this only leaves us self-deceived and in the dark. The way forward is to confess our sins – stepping into the light – and receiving Jesus' love. I believe we all have a very human tendency to ignore, deny or minimize our sin ( I think we have this tendency in other areas besides sin – like we might ignore things that need to be done on our vehicle – this won't make them go away – or we might ignore indicators of physical sickness – or relational difficulties – this denial and avoidance will not make the problem go away). We like our parents in the garden want to hide (and then after we have been found to shift blame). There is something wonderfully freeing about the invitation that John writes in this passage to confess – to simply say yes I have sinned and to step into the loving light of God and to allow that light to transform us. On Sunday I mentioned the apocryphal story of the person who sent letters to 12 public officials that simply said 'All is discovered – flee at once' and all did. A little web research (and if the web is not reliable what is?) revealed that this story has been told as relating to Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain and a little girl. In the little girl story she sends the message to twelve local pastors on a Saturday night, and none of them show up for Sunday morning – ouch! The story probably did not actually happen, but it does tell us something deeply true about how we perceive discovery of our sin – we want to flee. I'm convinced that the good news of Jesus is this, 'All has been discovered, step into the light and come to the table I have prepared for you.' We step into the light by confessing and receiving the gift of forgiveness. May we be the people that step into the light! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=41025 41025 Tue, 9 Apr 2013 14:19:00 +0000 Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Sunday (the first day of the Jewish week) and was hailed as the King, the Messiah. His followers and others shouted out Hosanna which was a cry of Jewish revolution and they waved palm branches which was a symbol of Jewish revolution. After riding into the city and being hailed as King, Jesus entered the temple courts and cleared out those who in the court of the Gentiles were selling animals for sacrifice and changing money. Jesus was very much behaving as if he were the King as if he were in charge. This led a to a series of questions from the religious rulers of the day who felt heat they were the ones who had the right to run the temple. So their first question is by what authority are you doing these things; followed by a question about taxation; a question about the resurrection and marriage. Finally One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' This question was a common one in circulation at that time. The religious leaders had counted 613 commandments in the Jewish Bible. Needless to say 613 is a bunch to keep track of, and people were interested in shorthand expressions of what was essential. Perhaps the proper answer was that all of the commands were equally important because each came from God. Jesus doen't miss a beat before answering: 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g] There is no commandment greater than these.' The man who was asking the question was impressed: 32 'Well said, teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.' 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. Jesus sums up all of Torah in this: loving God and loving people. The very challenging part for me of preparing this talk was seeing how profoundly simple yet difficult this command is. Jesus is an absolute genius. I doubt that any would argue that the world would be worse place if we all followed this call. Obviously the key is following the call to love God and love people. The challenging piece for me is loving my actual neighbor. There was a season of my life when I lived in a house in Wyoming for over three years, before moving to a different place. As I was moving I realized that I knew the names of my neighbors to the right of my house, but that I didn't know much about their actual lives. I also realized that I didn't even know the names of my neighbors on the left and that I only knew the name of one neighbor across the street. I was not at all cloudy that Jesus had commanded me to love God and my neighbor, but what was clear to me was that merely knowing that information did not equal transformation in my life. Since then I have been more convinced than ever that Jesus is a genius and that what he commands is so that I and others may flourish. My life is actually better when I love God and when I love my neighbor. May we be the people who follow Jesus in loving God and loving people. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Sunday (the first day of the Jewish week) and was hailed as the King, the Messiah. His followers and others shouted out Hosanna which was a cry of Jewish revolution and they waved palm branches which was a symbol of Jewish revolution. After riding into the city and being hailed as King, Jesus entered the temple courts and cleared out those who in the court of the Gentiles were selling animals for sacrifice and changing money. Jesus was very much behaving as if he were the King as if he were in charge. This led a to a series of questions from the religious rulers of the day who felt heat they were the ones who had the right to run the temple. So their first question is by what authority are you doing these things; followed by a question about taxation; a question about the resurrection and marriage. Finally One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' This question was a common one in circulation at that time. The religious leaders had counted 613 commandments in the Jewish Bible. Needless to say 613 is a bunch to keep track of, and people were interested in shorthand expressions of what was essential. Perhaps the proper answer was that all of the commands were equally important because each came from God. Jesus doen't miss a beat before answering: 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g] There is no commandment greater than these.' The man who was asking the question was impressed: 32 'Well said, teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.' 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. Jesus sums up all of Torah in this: loving God and loving people. The very challenging part for me of preparing this talk was seeing how profoundly simple yet difficult this command is. Jesus is an absolute genius. I doubt that any would argue that the world would be worse place if we all followed this call. Obviously the key is following the call to love God and love people. The challenging piece for me is loving my actual neighbor. There was a season of my life when I lived in a house in Wyoming for over three years, before moving to a different place. As I was moving I realized that I knew the names of my neighbors to the right of my house, but that I didn't know much about their actual lives. I also realized that I didn't even know the names of my neighbors on the left and that I only knew the name of one neighbor across the street. I was not at all cloudy that Jesus had commanded me to love God and my neighbor, but what was clear to me was that merely knowing that information did not equal transformation in my life. Since then I have been more convinced than ever that Jesus is a genius and that what he commands is so that I and others may flourish. My life is actually better when I love God and when I love my neighbor. May we be the people who follow Jesus in loving God and loving people. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=40822 40822 Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:29:00 +0000 For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the truth that we are God's masterpiece. As God's masterpiece Jesus calls us to deep Shalom with God, and to deep Shalom with others; and to deep Shalom with God's good creation. Jesus calls and leads us into life. Key to hearing the call is a confidence that God is speaking. As I've been reading the Bible guide and interacting with the passages, I really have been struck by the truth that God calls and communicates with people, and in personalized ways. Not all callings look the same, and the how of the calling looks different for different people, but one thing is consistently clear, God is speaking. On Sunday we took some time to listen for God's voice in our life. It is key not just to acknowledge that God is speaking, but to take actual time to listen. So, we don't merely need to hear about hearing God's voice, we are transformed as we actually hear God speak to us. We looked at a number of ways in which God speaks to us, through what we sometimes refer to as the CS's (that is they all start with CS)… a few of these ways are: Commanding Scripture; Comforting and Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs. The ultimate way that God speaks and has spoken is through Crist the Son – he perfectly reveals who God is. Another CS people suggest (and that is witnessed to in the Bible) is Creation's Splendor. What is clear is that God speaks. The question becomes are we listening. As we noted on Sunday in many ways our hearing or willingness to listen will depend a good deal on our perception – how we see God. There is more than one image we can see in the illustrations below, but when we lock into one image we cannot see the other. There are a number of different ways of seeing God. One way is to view God simply as the biggest possible Boss, who simply by virtue of being the most powerful being in the universe gets to boss us around. Often this view is accompanied with a portrait of a boss who is perpetually ticked off and disappointed in our performance. In this view, to paraphrase the title of one of America's most famous sermons: We are slacker employees in the employment of one ticked off Boss. If this is our predominate metaphor for how we see God, then a couple of things will happen. We will hear Jesus as perpetually angry, and we will honestly want to avoid hearing because our perception will be that all Jesus wants to do is boss us around because that is his right. A second and I think exceptionally more helpful metaphor is to see Jesus as he described himself as a good Doctor. A Doctor, if they are a good Doctor, will tell us what is necessary for a good and healthy life. While a boss is getting something from us, a Doctor is for us and us living well. So a part of Jesus' self-described mission was to give us life and life to the full. Jesus words bring life. We listen to the voice of Jesus because like Peter we say 'Where else would we go? Only you have the words of eternal life!' Hearing our calling - hearing the voice of Jesus – is hearing and accepting an invitation to real and lasting life. May we be the people who hear and respond. For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the truth that we are God's masterpiece. As God's masterpiece Jesus calls us to deep Shalom with God, and to deep Shalom with others; and to deep Shalom with God's good creation. Jesus calls and leads us into life. Key to hearing the call is a confidence that God is speaking. As I've been reading the Bible guide and interacting with the passages, I really have been struck by the truth that God calls and communicates with people, and in personalized ways. Not all callings look the same, and the how of the calling looks different for different people, but one thing is consistently clear, God is speaking. On Sunday we took some time to listen for God's voice in our life. It is key not just to acknowledge that God is speaking, but to take actual time to listen. So, we don't merely need to hear about hearing God's voice, we are transformed as we actually hear God speak to us. We looked at a number of ways in which God speaks to us, through what we sometimes refer to as the CS's (that is they all start with CS)… a few of these ways are: Commanding Scripture; Comforting and Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs. The ultimate way that God speaks and has spoken is through Crist the Son – he perfectly reveals who God is. Another CS people suggest (and that is witnessed to in the Bible) is Creation's Splendor. What is clear is that God speaks. The question becomes are we listening. As we noted on Sunday in many ways our hearing or willingness to listen will depend a good deal on our perception – how we see God. There is more than one image we can see in the illustrations below, but when we lock into one image we cannot see the other. There are a number of different ways of seeing God. One way is to view God simply as the biggest possible Boss, who simply by virtue of being the most powerful being in the universe gets to boss us around. Often this view is accompanied with a portrait of a boss who is perpetually ticked off and disappointed in our performance. In this view, to paraphrase the title of one of America's most famous sermons: We are slacker employees in the employment of one ticked off Boss. If this is our predominate metaphor for how we see God, then a couple of things will happen. We will hear Jesus as perpetually angry, and we will honestly want to avoid hearing because our perception will be that all Jesus wants to do is boss us around because that is his right. A second and I think exceptionally more helpful metaphor is to see Jesus as he described himself as a good Doctor. A Doctor, if they are a good Doctor, will tell us what is necessary for a good and healthy life. While a boss is getting something from us, a Doctor is for us and us living well. So a part of Jesus' self-described mission was to give us life and life to the full. Jesus words bring life. We listen to the voice of Jesus because like Peter we say 'Where else would we go? Only you have the words of eternal life!' Hearing our calling - hearing the voice of Jesus – is hearing and accepting an invitation to real and lasting life. May we be the people who hear and respond. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=40405 40405 Thu, 7 Mar 2013 08:56:00 +0000 We are into our second week of our Leap of Faith focused on finding our calling. Finding our calling means both discovering God's call for our life and then living that call. During our first week we looked at our deepest call as Shalom with God; Shalom with others and Shalom with the good creation (what we might think of as our work). We saw that though we were meant for Shalom in each of these areas that Shalom has been shattered and we participate in the shattering. However, the tear in shalom is not the deepest thing about us. The call is still the deepest truth about us. The deep call is true for all of us. This past Sunday we began focusing in more on personal calling. In finding our personal calling this passage from Ephesians 2:10 is tremendously encouraging: We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ultimately this tells us that God is really interested in us becoming the person that we were made to be. God has a masterpiece in mind when he thinks of us. Jesus is committed through the Holy Spirit to seeing the good creation that is us through to completion. Jesus has a masterpiece in mind that is uniquely us. As we have been saying (borrowing from John Ortberg), Jesus' deep purpose is to make me – me- i-er, and each of you – you-i-er, and then as I recently heard in a prayer time making us – us-i-er. Jesus is deeply committed to seeing our deep calling fulfilled. This means that while we certainly have a part to play in finding our calling, we do not need to be anxious. We are Jesus' masterpiece and he is committed to seeing that we become the masterpiece he intended. While each of us will have a unique and personal calling as we become the masterpiece Jesus made us to be there are recognizable patterns and challenges in finding our calling. We see these patterns in the life of Joseph. The first challenge we might call the it's all about me challenge. Joseph had some dreams that hinted at what God was going to do through him. The initial challenge for Joseph though was the mistaken belief that it was all about him. He seems intently focused on the idea that everyone will be bowing down to him (which does indeed eventually happen – at least with the brothers), but to miss the idea that leadership is for the benefit of others. Joseph oversharing his dreams in a manner that are all about him, while certainly not justifying the actions of his brothers, plays a role in the next challenge Joseph faces in finding his calling – disappointment. We might figuratively call this time the pit. In Joseph's case it was a literal pit. There is a very real temptation in times of disappointment to give up on the dream of finding our calling – of becoming the masterpiece Jesus made us to be. Part of the way forward in seasons of disappointment is faithfulness in what is right in front of us. As we pursue our calling there is a real temptation to long for a golden past or wish for a bright future. I believe God does give us a vision for what the future could be. It may not be a complete picture, but God calls to us through the picture. Joseph had the dream, but also had the reality of being sold into slavery. The way forward for Joseph was faithfulness where he was. This faithfulness was possible because God was with him. The way forward for us is recognition that God is with us right now. Living from this truth that God is with us we can be faithful to the work that is ours in the present. Faithfulness in what seems to us to be small things is absolutely essential in cooperating with Jesus as he forms us into the masterpiece he made us to be. Because the Lord was with Joseph he prospered even as a slave. This leads to the third challenge that many of us will face as we become the masterpiece that Jesus has in mind – the challenge of success and the challenge to our integrity. The challenge of success is to forget that we are not our own masterpiece - Jesus is the artist, the creator. The challenge of integrity, is the challenge of being whole and finding our life from Jesus. There seems to be a pattern for many of us in where our integrity will be challenged. Many of us will be challenged in one (or more) of these areas: 1. How we handle the influence we have with others. 2. How we handle and relate to our finances. 3. How we handle our sexuality. I want to work briefly but I hope with clarity to spell this out a little more. We often think of integrity as something we work up through our willpower. We apply all the energy we have to which ever area is our personal struggle and often will see some success for a while, but the effort is absolutely exhausting, and often a crack will emerge. We ask for forgiveness which Jesus always graciously grants, but after forgiveness, we will simply determine to double down on our efforts. We end up on a treadmill of trying harder - messing up - getting forgiven - getting back on the treadmill. If we are working from this perspective, we will read our Bibles and hear talks, and talk to each other in a way that basically amounts to this: God is good!; You are Bad!; God is mad!; Try harder! To be absolutely clear this is not the good news of Jesus. If in anyway you heard me saying this Sunday, this is precisely not what I was attempting to say. What I was attempting to say is that integrity is about wholeness. Integrity and wholeness are almost synonymous. Where we are not whole there will be a deadness in us that we will eventually attempt to fill with something or someone. But, unless we turn to the only source of life that deadness will remain. We can certainly numb the deadness – or if you will, deaden the deadness – but the deadness will remain. We will not kill the deadness in ourselves by trying harder. The only thing that kills deadness is life. What the Bible describes as life from above. It is the life found in Jesus. That is why John writes, 'In him was life!' Joseph walked with integrity because of the deep reality that God was with him. He recieved life from God and this made him whole and allowed him to lie with integrity. The way forward where our integrity is cracked is to be filled with the life that only Jesus gives. Which brings us full circle to where we began – we are his masterpiece. Because we are his masterpiece – our lives only ultimately work when we live into the reality that life comes only from him. May we become the masterpieces we were made to be as we receive life from Jesus. We are into our second week of our Leap of Faith focused on finding our calling. Finding our calling means both discovering God's call for our life and then living that call. During our first week we looked at our deepest call as Shalom with God; Shalom with others and Shalom with the good creation (what we might think of as our work). We saw that though we were meant for Shalom in each of these areas that Shalom has been shattered and we participate in the shattering. However, the tear in shalom is not the deepest thing about us. The call is still the deepest truth about us. The deep call is true for all of us. This past Sunday we began focusing in more on personal calling. In finding our personal calling this passage from Ephesians 2:10 is tremendously encouraging: We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ultimately this tells us that God is really interested in us becoming the person that we were made to be. God has a masterpiece in mind when he thinks of us. Jesus is committed through the Holy Spirit to seeing the good creation that is us through to completion. Jesus has a masterpiece in mind that is uniquely us. As we have been saying (borrowing from John Ortberg), Jesus' deep purpose is to make me – me- i-er, and each of you – you-i-er, and then as I recently heard in a prayer time making us – us-i-er. Jesus is deeply committed to seeing our deep calling fulfilled. This means that while we certainly have a part to play in finding our calling, we do not need to be anxious. We are Jesus' masterpiece and he is committed to seeing that we become the masterpiece he intended. While each of us will have a unique and personal calling as we become the masterpiece Jesus made us to be there are recognizable patterns and challenges in finding our calling. We see these patterns in the life of Joseph. The first challenge we might call the it's all about me challenge. Joseph had some dreams that hinted at what God was going to do through him. The initial challenge for Joseph though was the mistaken belief that it was all about him. He seems intently focused on the idea that everyone will be bowing down to him (which does indeed eventually happen – at least with the brothers), but to miss the idea that leadership is for the benefit of others. Joseph oversharing his dreams in a manner that are all about him, while certainly not justifying the actions of his brothers, plays a role in the next challenge Joseph faces in finding his calling – disappointment. We might figuratively call this time the pit. In Joseph's case it was a literal pit. There is a very real temptation in times of disappointment to give up on the dream of finding our calling – of becoming the masterpiece Jesus made us to be. Part of the way forward in seasons of disappointment is faithfulness in what is right in front of us. As we pursue our calling there is a real temptation to long for a golden past or wish for a bright future. I believe God does give us a vision for what the future could be. It may not be a complete picture, but God calls to us through the picture. Joseph had the dream, but also had the reality of being sold into slavery. The way forward for Joseph was faithfulness where he was. This faithfulness was possible because God was with him. The way forward for us is recognition that God is with us right now. Living from this truth that God is with us we can be faithful to the work that is ours in the present. Faithfulness in what seems to us to be small things is absolutely essential in cooperating with Jesus as he forms us into the masterpiece he made us to be. Because the Lord was with Joseph he prospered even as a slave. This leads to the third challenge that many of us will face as we become the masterpiece that Jesus has in mind – the challenge of success and the challenge to our integrity. The challenge of success is to forget that we are not our own masterpiece - Jesus is the artist, the creator. The challenge of integrity, is the challenge of being whole and finding our life from Jesus. There seems to be a pattern for many of us in where our integrity will be challenged. Many of us will be challenged in one (or more) of these areas: 1. How we handle the influence we have with others. 2. How we handle and relate to our finances. 3. How we handle our sexuality. I want to work briefly but I hope with clarity to spell this out a little more. We often think of integrity as something we work up through our willpower. We apply all the energy we have to which ever area is our personal struggle and often will see some success for a while, but the effort is absolutely exhausting, and often a crack will emerge. We ask for forgiveness which Jesus always graciously grants, but after forgiveness, we will simply determine to double down on our efforts. We end up on a treadmill of trying harder - messing up - getting forgiven - getting back on the treadmill. If we are working from this perspective, we will read our Bibles and hear talks, and talk to each other in a way that basically amounts to this: God is good!; You are Bad!; God is mad!; Try harder! To be absolutely clear this is not the good news of Jesus. If in anyway you heard me saying this Sunday, this is precisely not what I was attempting to say. What I was attempting to say is that integrity is about wholeness. Integrity and wholeness are almost synonymous. Where we are not whole there will be a deadness in us that we will eventually attempt to fill with something or someone. But, unless we turn to the only source of life that deadness will remain. We can certainly numb the deadness – or if you will, deaden the deadness – but the deadness will remain. We will not kill the deadness in ourselves by trying harder. The only thing that kills deadness is life. What the Bible describes as life from above. It is the life found in Jesus. That is why John writes, 'In him was life!' Joseph walked with integrity because of the deep reality that God was with him. He recieved life from God and this made him whole and allowed him to lie with integrity. The way forward where our integrity is cracked is to be filled with the life that only Jesus gives. Which brings us full circle to where we began – we are his masterpiece. Because we are his masterpiece – our lives only ultimately work when we live into the reality that life comes only from him. May we become the masterpieces we were made to be as we receive life from Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=40199 40199 Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:01:00 +0000 lLeap of Faith is how we as an ekklesia of Jesus observe the season of Lent. It is a time when we are asked ot to Dream.Below are some thoughts on dreams from Mary Beth Oakley that I found very powerful: I've never been a dreamer. I was not one of those girls who bought 'Bride' magazine and planned out every detail of her wedding (without even having a boyfriend). I never thought about it. I never really dreamed of having children; never dreamed about traveling, vacations, perfect jobs. I was not programmed to dream. If I wanted something, I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't breathe it into the air with my voice. Why? Because to do so would risk admitting that I wanted something; that I had a need/want that might not be fulfilled. It invited embarrassment and humiliation when it didn't turn out. Dreams don't always come true. Let's face it - we don't always get what we want – or even what we need - contrary to Mick Jager. I mean, have your dreams always come true? Did you get into the college you wanted? Did you get that ONE particular toy you wanted for Christmas as a child? (or adult?) Did the girl say 'Yes' when you asked her out, or were your hopes dashed? As a child you dreamed of being a rock star or a baseball player or a famous writer, surgeon, CEO, fill in the blank. Are you there? Perhaps some of you are, but for the majority of us, somewhere along the way, we have had at least one of our dreams dissolve into disappointment. So I lived my life without expressing desires to anyone for anything. And I had a scripture to back me up: Proverbs 13:12 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' There was a period of time where that was my mantra. I bitterly determined that I wasn't going to hope – it only brings disappointment. Marriage? ALONE or DIVORCED; College? HIGH DEBT/NO JOB; Family? Dysfunction Junction! This does not make for a delightful follower of Jesus. Finally one day, God said, 'Mary Beth! READ THE REST OF THE VERSE!' I'm sure He was tired of my grousing by this point! So I opened my Bible and read: 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick' at which point I just looked up at Him and nodded my head, 'yea, I know' 'Continue,' He said. 'BUT a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.' Wait…what? A dream fulfilled is a tree of life?! Now, I know that I've read this before and given mental assent to it, but this was a new revelation all the same. God is talking about fulfilling dreams. He is giving me permission to dream, permission to hope! To me, this was a BIG BUT! It challenged the way I thought and looked at life! This passage directly relates to Israel and their waiting for the Messiah. Can you imagine THEIR heart sickness? Waiting, waiting, falling away, being restored, renewed commitment, waiting, waiting… falling away…. Would we have done much better? I'm not sure I would have. But imagine the excitement in the hearts of the people when they first heard rumblings of the possibility of Messiah! Could it be?! They say He heals the sick! The blind can see! The lame can walk! Imagine Simeon holding the baby, 'Lord, you have fulfilled your word, now let your servant depart in peace! With my own eyes, I have seen the salvation that has been fulfilled in the sight of every nation' THIS is the Tree of Life that we missed the first time. 'I have come to give you life and that to the fullest' he says in John 10:10. Our hope is NOT deferred; Our ULTIMATE hope is fulfilled in Christ – the Tree of Life! So, to quote Francis Schaeffer, 'How should we then live?' WITH HOPE! DREAM ON! How will your life be different if you lived with Hope in Jesus? Dreams built around the notion that Christ is redeeming this planet and is inviting us to partner with Him? Would you dare to dream about businesses that would make the world a better place? Laura Vredeveld and Jason Rademacher did and now, a couple of years later, they have more business than they know what to do with. Would we dare to Dream about being an ekklesia that exists debt free, pouring our resources and ourselves into kingdom causes? Could we dream of rescuing orphans like the Pineros'? Living with Hope in Jesus expands your dreams beyond yourself and your life. Living with Hope in Jesus allows you to dream KINGDOM Dreams. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. Now that's a big but! lLeap of Faith is how we as an ekklesia of Jesus observe the season of Lent. It is a time when we are asked ot to Dream.Below are some thoughts on dreams from Mary Beth Oakley that I found very powerful: I've never been a dreamer. I was not one of those girls who bought 'Bride' magazine and planned out every detail of her wedding (without even having a boyfriend). I never thought about it. I never really dreamed of having children; never dreamed about traveling, vacations, perfect jobs. I was not programmed to dream. If I wanted something, I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't breathe it into the air with my voice. Why? Because to do so would risk admitting that I wanted something; that I had a need/want that might not be fulfilled. It invited embarrassment and humiliation when it didn't turn out. Dreams don't always come true. Let's face it - we don't always get what we want – or even what we need - contrary to Mick Jager. I mean, have your dreams always come true? Did you get into the college you wanted? Did you get that ONE particular toy you wanted for Christmas as a child? (or adult?) Did the girl say 'Yes' when you asked her out, or were your hopes dashed? As a child you dreamed of being a rock star or a baseball player or a famous writer, surgeon, CEO, fill in the blank. Are you there? Perhaps some of you are, but for the majority of us, somewhere along the way, we have had at least one of our dreams dissolve into disappointment. So I lived my life without expressing desires to anyone for anything. And I had a scripture to back me up: Proverbs 13:12 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick.' There was a period of time where that was my mantra. I bitterly determined that I wasn't going to hope – it only brings disappointment. Marriage? ALONE or DIVORCED; College? HIGH DEBT/NO JOB; Family? Dysfunction Junction! This does not make for a delightful follower of Jesus. Finally one day, God said, 'Mary Beth! READ THE REST OF THE VERSE!' I'm sure He was tired of my grousing by this point! So I opened my Bible and read: 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick' at which point I just looked up at Him and nodded my head, 'yea, I know' 'Continue,' He said. 'BUT a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.' Wait…what? A dream fulfilled is a tree of life?! Now, I know that I've read this before and given mental assent to it, but this was a new revelation all the same. God is talking about fulfilling dreams. He is giving me permission to dream, permission to hope! To me, this was a BIG BUT! It challenged the way I thought and looked at life! This passage directly relates to Israel and their waiting for the Messiah. Can you imagine THEIR heart sickness? Waiting, waiting, falling away, being restored, renewed commitment, waiting, waiting… falling away…. Would we have done much better? I'm not sure I would have. But imagine the excitement in the hearts of the people when they first heard rumblings of the possibility of Messiah! Could it be?! They say He heals the sick! The blind can see! The lame can walk! Imagine Simeon holding the baby, 'Lord, you have fulfilled your word, now let your servant depart in peace! With my own eyes, I have seen the salvation that has been fulfilled in the sight of every nation' THIS is the Tree of Life that we missed the first time. 'I have come to give you life and that to the fullest' he says in John 10:10. Our hope is NOT deferred; Our ULTIMATE hope is fulfilled in Christ – the Tree of Life! So, to quote Francis Schaeffer, 'How should we then live?' WITH HOPE! DREAM ON! How will your life be different if you lived with Hope in Jesus? Dreams built around the notion that Christ is redeeming this planet and is inviting us to partner with Him? Would you dare to dream about businesses that would make the world a better place? Laura Vredeveld and Jason Rademacher did and now, a couple of years later, they have more business than they know what to do with. Would we dare to Dream about being an ekklesia that exists debt free, pouring our resources and ourselves into kingdom causes? Could we dream of rescuing orphans like the Pineros'? Living with Hope in Jesus expands your dreams beyond yourself and your life. Living with Hope in Jesus allows you to dream KINGDOM Dreams. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. Now that's a big but! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=40015 40015 Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:23:00 +0000 The book of Acts concludes with a seafaring adventure; a shipwreck on the island of Malta; and then another sea voyage eventually concluding with Paul under house arrest in Rome. For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance. This summation beautifully ties together the whole narrative of Acts. It is the story of the kingdom and Jesus. The narrative opened this way: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. The book begins with Jesus and convincing proofs that he was alive and him speaking about the Kingdom of God, and concludes with Paul talking about the Kingdom and Jesus. On Sunday we noted that the Kingdom of God and Jesus were the anchors of Paul's life. They were his true North and his pursuit regardless of his circumstances. His circumstances for the last years of his life were prison and beatings and eventually execution. He was arrested in Jerusalem. He had planned just to go there to deliver a gift, and then he planned to set off for Spain. Instead he was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities, when the Jewish leaders started demanding a trial in Jerusalem he appealed to Caesar and from that time on he was a prisoner on his way to Rome. On Sunday we saw that many of us will know the experience of our life taking unexpected twists, and sometimes these twists will be significantly negative. Paul in this passage is a great example of what life in the Kingdom focused on Jesus can look like even in the midst of adverse circumstances. May we be the people who are centered on the Kingdom and the King. The book of Acts concludes with a seafaring adventure; a shipwreck on the island of Malta; and then another sea voyage eventually concluding with Paul under house arrest in Rome. For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance. This summation beautifully ties together the whole narrative of Acts. It is the story of the kingdom and Jesus. The narrative opened this way: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. The book begins with Jesus and convincing proofs that he was alive and him speaking about the Kingdom of God, and concludes with Paul talking about the Kingdom and Jesus. On Sunday we noted that the Kingdom of God and Jesus were the anchors of Paul's life. They were his true North and his pursuit regardless of his circumstances. His circumstances for the last years of his life were prison and beatings and eventually execution. He was arrested in Jerusalem. He had planned just to go there to deliver a gift, and then he planned to set off for Spain. Instead he was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities, when the Jewish leaders started demanding a trial in Jerusalem he appealed to Caesar and from that time on he was a prisoner on his way to Rome. On Sunday we saw that many of us will know the experience of our life taking unexpected twists, and sometimes these twists will be significantly negative. Paul in this passage is a great example of what life in the Kingdom focused on Jesus can look like even in the midst of adverse circumstances. May we be the people who are centered on the Kingdom and the King. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39958 39958 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:25:00 +0000 The leaders of the early Jesus movement gathered in Jerusalem and wrestled through the question of whether or not it was going to be necessary for the new followers of Jesus who were not Jewish to be circumcised and to keep the other parts of the Jewish law. They wrote their decision in a letter, saying that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to not lay anything on you except…. and then they listed four requirements. Notably absent were circumcision, most food laws and stipulations for maintaining ceremonial cleanness. This decision greatly opened the way to bring the good news of Jesus to non-Jewish people. After the council met Paul and Barnabbas set out on a journey back to Antioch. At Antioch they had such a sharp disagreement that they ended up parting ways. Paul took Silas with him and set out to proclaim the good news of Jesus in new places. Chapter 16 of Acts reads like a rollicking adventure, as does the first part of Acts 17, which should tell us that life lived as part of Jesus ekklesia should be a grand adventure. Paul has to escape Berea, because of the of the danger he is in from proclaiming the good news of Jesus. He stops in Athens. He walks around the city and is greatly distressed, by all the idols – or as the NIV has it – his spirit was provoked within him. We noted on Sunday that there are a variety of ways to be provoked, and provoked to action. It is possible for us to be provoked, and end up angry at the people who are worshipping the idols. It is an understandable reaction – though I might add – ultimately probably ineffective today. Paul is not provoked to anger at the people of Athens, instead he seems provoked by how much idols rip people off. Throughout his interaction with the people of Athens, he contrasts the living God, with the gods of the age. He notes that the gods of silver and gold demand the service of humans. Serving these god chews up humanity. We can go to them over and over and not find life. Paul proclaims that the living God is the maker of Heaven and Earth and that he actually is not served by human hands because he doesn't need anything. Instead God is the giver of 'life and breath and everything.' In other words God is sheer generosity. God gives life. While the gods of the age will take and take and take and while we think that they are giving us life they are actually sucking the life out out of us and will ultimately leave us dead and lifeless. I really feel like this short excerpt from David Foster Wallace's commencement talk captures this reality of the gods of this age, and how we all worship – but how the worship of the gods of this age be it, money, power, beauty … will actually chew us up.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKSUXOK8ooQ&feature=youtu.be Paul goes on to say that the good news of the Living God is that he gives life, and that he is near – for in him we have our being. What the living God commands (this is the strong word that Paul uses) is that we repent. Repent means that we turn to the one who is the giver of life. Repent in our context can very quickly take on the negative context of God is really angry because we have screwed up so badly, and if we are followers of Jesus where we see idolatry in the world we will be tempted to hold up the signs letting all people know how very angry God is. I'm convinced this is the wrong approach. Again Paul's spirit was provoked, but this provocation did not result in anger against the Athenians, but instead a clear presentation of the living God who does not look like the gods of the age. The gods of the age are ultimately death dealing (DFW nails it on that), only the living God gives life. So the invitation that the ekklesia of Jesus makes is turns from the gods that actually rob us of life and turn to the living God who is the giver of life and breath and everything. May we be the people who are rightly provoked by idolatry and proclaim through our lives that there is a living God who is the giver of life. The leaders of the early Jesus movement gathered in Jerusalem and wrestled through the question of whether or not it was going to be necessary for the new followers of Jesus who were not Jewish to be circumcised and to keep the other parts of the Jewish law. They wrote their decision in a letter, saying that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to not lay anything on you except…. and then they listed four requirements. Notably absent were circumcision, most food laws and stipulations for maintaining ceremonial cleanness. This decision greatly opened the way to bring the good news of Jesus to non-Jewish people. After the council met Paul and Barnabbas set out on a journey back to Antioch. At Antioch they had such a sharp disagreement that they ended up parting ways. Paul took Silas with him and set out to proclaim the good news of Jesus in new places. Chapter 16 of Acts reads like a rollicking adventure, as does the first part of Acts 17, which should tell us that life lived as part of Jesus ekklesia should be a grand adventure. Paul has to escape Berea, because of the of the danger he is in from proclaiming the good news of Jesus. He stops in Athens. He walks around the city and is greatly distressed, by all the idols – or as the NIV has it – his spirit was provoked within him. We noted on Sunday that there are a variety of ways to be provoked, and provoked to action. It is possible for us to be provoked, and end up angry at the people who are worshipping the idols. It is an understandable reaction – though I might add – ultimately probably ineffective today. Paul is not provoked to anger at the people of Athens, instead he seems provoked by how much idols rip people off. Throughout his interaction with the people of Athens, he contrasts the living God, with the gods of the age. He notes that the gods of silver and gold demand the service of humans. Serving these god chews up humanity. We can go to them over and over and not find life. Paul proclaims that the living God is the maker of Heaven and Earth and that he actually is not served by human hands because he doesn't need anything. Instead God is the giver of 'life and breath and everything.' In other words God is sheer generosity. God gives life. While the gods of the age will take and take and take and while we think that they are giving us life they are actually sucking the life out out of us and will ultimately leave us dead and lifeless. I really feel like this short excerpt from David Foster Wallace's commencement talk captures this reality of the gods of this age, and how we all worship – but how the worship of the gods of this age be it, money, power, beauty … will actually chew us up.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKSUXOK8ooQ&feature=youtu.be Paul goes on to say that the good news of the Living God is that he gives life, and that he is near – for in him we have our being. What the living God commands (this is the strong word that Paul uses) is that we repent. Repent means that we turn to the one who is the giver of life. Repent in our context can very quickly take on the negative context of God is really angry because we have screwed up so badly, and if we are followers of Jesus where we see idolatry in the world we will be tempted to hold up the signs letting all people know how very angry God is. I'm convinced this is the wrong approach. Again Paul's spirit was provoked, but this provocation did not result in anger against the Athenians, but instead a clear presentation of the living God who does not look like the gods of the age. The gods of the age are ultimately death dealing (DFW nails it on that), only the living God gives life. So the invitation that the ekklesia of Jesus makes is turns from the gods that actually rob us of life and turn to the living God who is the giver of life and breath and everything. May we be the people who are rightly provoked by idolatry and proclaim through our lives that there is a living God who is the giver of life. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39759 39759 Wed, 6 Feb 2013 10:40:00 +0000 The prophet Joel had recorded that God's intention was to pour out His Spirit on all His people: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Peter on the day of Pentecost says that this passage was being fulfilled. As the story progresses through the book of Acts, Peter sees this passage fulfilled in his own life as God gives him a really vivid vision – around noon on a day when he was hungry and had gone up to a rooftop to pray: He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 14 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. The narrator tells us that he was puzzled by this vision, and was wondering about the meaning. The implication is that he is really troubled and not sure what to do with this new vision from God. It would have been completely contrary to what he learned throughout his life. It was contrary to things he had been taught regarding what to eat and what people to associate with, and this teaching was from the Bible: ''There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. 9 ''Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you. 13 ''These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. 20 ''All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. …. Etc. Leviticus 11 It is no wonder that Peter says surely not! What we saw on Sunday is that sometimes when God gives us a vision from Him of a new way forward - it will burst our old paradigms. Then when these paradigms are burst God launches us into the wideness of His mission. I was really challenged by this chapter. First I was challenged by Peter's habit of putting himself in a position to hear from God. It was noon – he apparently had a habit of regular times of prayer. Early in Acts we read about him going to pray at 3 in the afternoon. I want to continue to develop regular times when I am not just talking to God, but listening for how he is speaking. Second, I wonder what boundaries or paradigms that I have - where if God were to speak I would say 'surely not!'? And I wonder how I can cultivate a willingness in my soul to move from 'surely not!' to obedience as Peter did. It is interesting to me that Peter's willingness was cultivated through prayer, a vision from the Holy Spirit and then the experience of his interaction with the men sent from Cornelius. May we be the people who regularly seek God and who are willing to let our paradigms be burst by the Holy Spirit. This week we will look at Acts 15 – Peter telling his story is crucial in this chapter. The prophet Joel had recorded that God's intention was to pour out His Spirit on all His people: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Peter on the day of Pentecost says that this passage was being fulfilled. As the story progresses through the book of Acts, Peter sees this passage fulfilled in his own life as God gives him a really vivid vision – around noon on a day when he was hungry and had gone up to a rooftop to pray: He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 14 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. The narrator tells us that he was puzzled by this vision, and was wondering about the meaning. The implication is that he is really troubled and not sure what to do with this new vision from God. It would have been completely contrary to what he learned throughout his life. It was contrary to things he had been taught regarding what to eat and what people to associate with, and this teaching was from the Bible: ''There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. 9 ''Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you. 13 ''These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. 20 ''All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. …. Etc. Leviticus 11 It is no wonder that Peter says surely not! What we saw on Sunday is that sometimes when God gives us a vision from Him of a new way forward - it will burst our old paradigms. Then when these paradigms are burst God launches us into the wideness of His mission. I was really challenged by this chapter. First I was challenged by Peter's habit of putting himself in a position to hear from God. It was noon – he apparently had a habit of regular times of prayer. Early in Acts we read about him going to pray at 3 in the afternoon. I want to continue to develop regular times when I am not just talking to God, but listening for how he is speaking. Second, I wonder what boundaries or paradigms that I have - where if God were to speak I would say 'surely not!'? And I wonder how I can cultivate a willingness in my soul to move from 'surely not!' to obedience as Peter did. It is interesting to me that Peter's willingness was cultivated through prayer, a vision from the Holy Spirit and then the experience of his interaction with the men sent from Cornelius. May we be the people who regularly seek God and who are willing to let our paradigms be burst by the Holy Spirit. This week we will look at Acts 15 – Peter telling his story is crucial in this chapter. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39520 39520 Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:19:00 +0000 Jesus promised that his earliest followers would be empowered by the Holy Spirit and that they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. During the Jewish feast of Pentecost this promise began to be fulfilled as the Holy Spirit was poured on the 120 followers gathered in an upper room. As the Holy Spirit was poured out each of the gathered disciples were empowered to declare the wonders of God as the Spirit enabled them. They were empowered to declare God's wonders in languages not their own. Others heard them, and a large part of the miracle on Pentecost was that those who heard, heard them declaring the wonders of God in their own language. We noted on Sunday that the Spirit empowers us to declare the wonders of God in the present in a way that will transcend cultures. Pentecost is in part a reverse Babel. While there are many languages being heard, instead of scattering it is drawing people from many different languages and they are hearing the wonders of God. The Holy Spirit in the present empowers a breaching of the barriers that exist across culture and language. There are some people there however, for some reason simply think that the disciples have been drinking. Peter responds in this way: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ''In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Peter in his response argues that a mark of having the Spirit poured out will be prophecy. Visions and dreams are examples of prophetic activity. Prophetic speech points to a future when more of God's kingdom is realized on earth as in heaven. So the Spirit empowers us to declare the goodness of God right now in the present, and to point to a future where more of whatGod desires actually occurs. In the history of our nation I think one of the most prophetic speeches ever was Dr. King's dream speech. In this speech Dr. King describes a future that is more in line with God's vision of his Kingdom and God's will being done on earthas it is in heaven. May we be a people who declare the wonders of God in the present and dream of greater manifestations of his kingdom in the future. Jesus promised that his earliest followers would be empowered by the Holy Spirit and that they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. During the Jewish feast of Pentecost this promise began to be fulfilled as the Holy Spirit was poured on the 120 followers gathered in an upper room. As the Holy Spirit was poured out each of the gathered disciples were empowered to declare the wonders of God as the Spirit enabled them. They were empowered to declare God's wonders in languages not their own. Others heard them, and a large part of the miracle on Pentecost was that those who heard, heard them declaring the wonders of God in their own language. We noted on Sunday that the Spirit empowers us to declare the wonders of God in the present in a way that will transcend cultures. Pentecost is in part a reverse Babel. While there are many languages being heard, instead of scattering it is drawing people from many different languages and they are hearing the wonders of God. The Holy Spirit in the present empowers a breaching of the barriers that exist across culture and language. There are some people there however, for some reason simply think that the disciples have been drinking. Peter responds in this way: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ''In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Peter in his response argues that a mark of having the Spirit poured out will be prophecy. Visions and dreams are examples of prophetic activity. Prophetic speech points to a future when more of God's kingdom is realized on earth as in heaven. So the Spirit empowers us to declare the goodness of God right now in the present, and to point to a future where more of whatGod desires actually occurs. In the history of our nation I think one of the most prophetic speeches ever was Dr. King's dream speech. In this speech Dr. King describes a future that is more in line with God's vision of his Kingdom and God's will being done on earthas it is in heaven. May we be a people who declare the wonders of God in the present and dream of greater manifestations of his kingdom in the future. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39404 39404 Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:31:00 +0000 S- 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep. O – The whole of this chapter is mostly a summary of the Old Testament, as Stephen walks the Sanhedrin through a narrative that would have been very familiar to them. He ends the summation of Israel's history with Solomon building the Temple, but then adds a comment and a quotation from Isaiah: 'However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 ''Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.What kind of house will you build for me?says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?50 Has not my hand made all these things? It would seem that part of his point is that all the earth belongs to God, and they somehow still miss it as their ancestors did. He then makes a very pointed rebuke. But then before he dies he asks that they be forgiven echoing Jesus' words from the cross. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we recognize that people who are the most religious can often miss what God is doing. We also apply ourselves to this passage as we are willing to confront the religious systems of the day, while remembering that the last word is forgiveness. P- Lord would you pour your Holy Spirit on us and give us the boldness of Stephen, and grace to ask for the forgiveness of even those we would consider our enemies. S- 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep. O – The whole of this chapter is mostly a summary of the Old Testament, as Stephen walks the Sanhedrin through a narrative that would have been very familiar to them. He ends the summation of Israel's history with Solomon building the Temple, but then adds a comment and a quotation from Isaiah: 'However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 ''Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.What kind of house will you build for me?says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?50 Has not my hand made all these things? It would seem that part of his point is that all the earth belongs to God, and they somehow still miss it as their ancestors did. He then makes a very pointed rebuke. But then before he dies he asks that they be forgiven echoing Jesus' words from the cross. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we recognize that people who are the most religious can often miss what God is doing. We also apply ourselves to this passage as we are willing to confront the religious systems of the day, while remembering that the last word is forgiveness. P- Lord would you pour your Holy Spirit on us and give us the boldness of Stephen, and grace to ask for the forgiveness of even those we would consider our enemies. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39342 39342 Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:23:00 +0000 S- 'Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people the words of this Life.' And they when they hear this they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. O- The disciples had prayed for boldness (chpt 4) and that God would stretch out his hand to perform wonders. The community had experienced a trauma in the event of Ananias and Saphira who acted disingenuously, but were ultimately deceiving the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit was definitely among them – the people brought the sick and afflicted and they were all healed. The priestly class got jealous and had the apostles imprisoned. They are set free by an angel of the Lord who gives them these instructions. In this section we see the movement spread through the proclamation that Jesus is Messiah and the healing of the sick. It is word and works. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we boldly declare that Jesus is the Messiah, and as we pray for the sick. P – Jesus may we speak the words of this Life, and trust that you have commissioned us to continue your movement. S- 'Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people the words of this Life.' And they when they hear this they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. O- The disciples had prayed for boldness (chpt 4) and that God would stretch out his hand to perform wonders. The community had experienced a trauma in the event of Ananias and Saphira who acted disingenuously, but were ultimately deceiving the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit was definitely among them – the people brought the sick and afflicted and they were all healed. The priestly class got jealous and had the apostles imprisoned. They are set free by an angel of the Lord who gives them these instructions. In this section we see the movement spread through the proclamation that Jesus is Messiah and the healing of the sick. It is word and works. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we boldly declare that Jesus is the Messiah, and as we pray for the sick. P – Jesus may we speak the words of this Life, and trust that you have commissioned us to continue your movement. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39290 39290 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:00:00 +0000 S - 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 O – Peter and John are testifying about the man who was healed in Jesus name. They testify with courage and about how the man was healed not by their powers, but by the name of Jesus, and deep trust in his name. The council recognizes that these are very ordinary men but there is something extraordinary about their boldness and courage that is astonishing, and they take note that they have been with Jesus. A-We apply ourselves to this passage when we prioritize being with Jesus. We apply ourselves to this passage when we understand that the story of the Bible is of Jesus using ordinary people like us. P- Lord enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. (Acts 4:30) S - 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 O – Peter and John are testifying about the man who was healed in Jesus name. They testify with courage and about how the man was healed not by their powers, but by the name of Jesus, and deep trust in his name. The council recognizes that these are very ordinary men but there is something extraordinary about their boldness and courage that is astonishing, and they take note that they have been with Jesus. A-We apply ourselves to this passage when we prioritize being with Jesus. We apply ourselves to this passage when we understand that the story of the Bible is of Jesus using ordinary people like us. P- Lord enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. (Acts 4:30) http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39262 39262 Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:30:00 +0000 S- 6 Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.' 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. Acts 3:6-7 O – Luke doesn't specify what day this was when Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray – it was one day – it must be sometime after the day of Pentecost. We are told however that it was about three in the afternoon and they were on their way to pray. Apparently they had a regular pattern of prayer at certain times of day. This man has strategically positioned himself by the temple looking for money, but he is a big surprise! Peter and John aren't materially wealthy, but they have something much more valuable. A – We apply ourselves to this passage by having a regular pattern of prayer, but always being ready for how spontaneous opportunities for the Kingdom will arise. The pattern of prayer trains us to be ready for these opportunities. We apply ourselves to this passage as we pray for the healing. P – Lord Jesus may we have the same trust in the power of your name and your Holy Spirit at work in and through us. S- 6 Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.' 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. Acts 3:6-7 O – Luke doesn't specify what day this was when Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray – it was one day – it must be sometime after the day of Pentecost. We are told however that it was about three in the afternoon and they were on their way to pray. Apparently they had a regular pattern of prayer at certain times of day. This man has strategically positioned himself by the temple looking for money, but he is a big surprise! Peter and John aren't materially wealthy, but they have something much more valuable. A – We apply ourselves to this passage by having a regular pattern of prayer, but always being ready for how spontaneous opportunities for the Kingdom will arise. The pattern of prayer trains us to be ready for these opportunities. We apply ourselves to this passage as we pray for the healing. P – Lord Jesus may we have the same trust in the power of your name and your Holy Spirit at work in and through us. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39240 39240 Wed, 9 Jan 2013 13:20:00 +0000 As a number of us participate in the Daniel fast and pray about how we are to be involved in our BHAG and as we pray about our participation in the dream of helping start 10 new communities of Jesus' revolution over the next ten years, I thought it might be helpful in this blog to look at why I have increasingly been using the work 'ekklesia' instead of 'church.' First let's start with a word association activity. Honestly now, what are the first words that pop into your mind when you hear the word 'church?' I would guess that if you are a bit like me, and you have been shaped at all by our culture your first thoughts were – building, location, or a meeting time. That is why we say things like 'we go to church' or 'what time is church?' How we communicate with the word 'church' is very instructive when we give it some thought. Now let's consider the first time that the word 'church' occurs in our English New Testaments in Matthew 16. Jesus has led his disciples out of Jewish territory to a place named in honor of Caesar. Jesus had caused quite a stir and generated a bunch of talk. People were saying all sorts of different things about him, and he wanted to know what his disciples thought at this point, so he asked them 'Who do you say that I am.' Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah!' Messiah means God's anointed King. In a place named in honor of the ruler of the world – Caesar – Peter says that actually Jesus is the King! Jesus in response says that Peter's confession will be the rock upon which he (Jesus) will build his 'church' as our English Bibles have it. The Greek work is ekklesia. Ekklesia was not a religious term. Ekklesia referred to a gathering, assembly, congregation or group of people called or gathered for a specific purpose. There was the ekklesia of local government. Ekklesia was the term that Jewish translators used for 'the assembly' of Israel when they translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. The Jewish people thought of themselves as the ekklesia of God even as they were scattered all over the Ancient Near East. In other words the Jewish ekklesia were the people committed to following the commands of and worshiping the God of Israel. The ekklesia of Caesar would have been committed to following the commands of Caesar and very often the worship of Caesar. Jesus says that upon the confession that he is King, he will build his own ekklesia. He is launching a movement of people who will recognize him as King, and carry out his agenda of praying and working for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. This king 'who had no place to lay his head' was not talking about a building program, he was confidently asserting that he was launching a movement of people who would love as he loved. In a future a blog we'll unpack a little history to help us understand how the word 'church' came to be used so that for many of us our first thoughts will be of a building or a time of the week. I pray that during this Daniel Fast we will dream the dreams that Jesus had for his Ekklesia. As a number of us participate in the Daniel fast and pray about how we are to be involved in our BHAG and as we pray about our participation in the dream of helping start 10 new communities of Jesus' revolution over the next ten years, I thought it might be helpful in this blog to look at why I have increasingly been using the work 'ekklesia' instead of 'church.' First let's start with a word association activity. Honestly now, what are the first words that pop into your mind when you hear the word 'church?' I would guess that if you are a bit like me, and you have been shaped at all by our culture your first thoughts were – building, location, or a meeting time. That is why we say things like 'we go to church' or 'what time is church?' How we communicate with the word 'church' is very instructive when we give it some thought. Now let's consider the first time that the word 'church' occurs in our English New Testaments in Matthew 16. Jesus has led his disciples out of Jewish territory to a place named in honor of Caesar. Jesus had caused quite a stir and generated a bunch of talk. People were saying all sorts of different things about him, and he wanted to know what his disciples thought at this point, so he asked them 'Who do you say that I am.' Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah!' Messiah means God's anointed King. In a place named in honor of the ruler of the world – Caesar – Peter says that actually Jesus is the King! Jesus in response says that Peter's confession will be the rock upon which he (Jesus) will build his 'church' as our English Bibles have it. The Greek work is ekklesia. Ekklesia was not a religious term. Ekklesia referred to a gathering, assembly, congregation or group of people called or gathered for a specific purpose. There was the ekklesia of local government. Ekklesia was the term that Jewish translators used for 'the assembly' of Israel when they translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. The Jewish people thought of themselves as the ekklesia of God even as they were scattered all over the Ancient Near East. In other words the Jewish ekklesia were the people committed to following the commands of and worshiping the God of Israel. The ekklesia of Caesar would have been committed to following the commands of Caesar and very often the worship of Caesar. Jesus says that upon the confession that he is King, he will build his own ekklesia. He is launching a movement of people who will recognize him as King, and carry out his agenda of praying and working for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. This king 'who had no place to lay his head' was not talking about a building program, he was confidently asserting that he was launching a movement of people who would love as he loved. In a future a blog we'll unpack a little history to help us understand how the word 'church' came to be used so that for many of us our first thoughts will be of a building or a time of the week. I pray that during this Daniel Fast we will dream the dreams that Jesus had for his Ekklesia. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39232 39232 Wed, 9 Jan 2013 10:25:00 +0000 S- ''In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Acts 2:17-18 O – This is part of Peter's explanation for what the inhabitants of Jerusalem are observing and hearing as each of them hears, the Gallileans proclaiming the good news of God in their own language. A few people say that the disciples have had too much too to drink. But Peter responds what is happening is a fulfillment of an ancient promise of God to pour out his own Spirit on all people – women and men/ young and old. All will receive God's Spirit and as a result they will see visions of the Kingdom; they will dream the dreams of God of the Kingdom on earth as in Heaven. They will prophesy – they will speak forth God's heart. A – We apply ourselves to this passage as we empowered by the Holy Spirit dream the dreams of God of the world as God desires it. We apply ourselves to his as empowered by the Holy Spirit we speak for God's heart for justice. We apply ourselves to this passage as we recognize each person as a recipient of the Holy Spirit. P- Holy Spirit breath of the living God, renew us and all of creation with us. Give us your dreams and let us proclaim your heart. S- ''In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. Acts 2:17-18 O – This is part of Peter's explanation for what the inhabitants of Jerusalem are observing and hearing as each of them hears, the Gallileans proclaiming the good news of God in their own language. A few people say that the disciples have had too much too to drink. But Peter responds what is happening is a fulfillment of an ancient promise of God to pour out his own Spirit on all people – women and men/ young and old. All will receive God's Spirit and as a result they will see visions of the Kingdom; they will dream the dreams of God of the Kingdom on earth as in Heaven. They will prophesy – they will speak forth God's heart. A – We apply ourselves to this passage as we empowered by the Holy Spirit dream the dreams of God of the world as God desires it. We apply ourselves to his as empowered by the Holy Spirit we speak for God's heart for justice. We apply ourselves to this passage as we recognize each person as a recipient of the Holy Spirit. P- Holy Spirit breath of the living God, renew us and all of creation with us. Give us your dreams and let us proclaim your heart. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39212 39212 Tue, 8 Jan 2013 18:09:00 +0000 A number of us are entering into a 12 day Daniel fast, as a way of focusing our hearts on God in this New Year. As we fast Zach has suggested that we ask God how he would have us participate in Southside's dream of being out of debt; and how God might lead us to participate in the dream of planting ten ekklesia (churches) in the next ten years; and I would add one additional suggestion; ask God what it means for us to participated in the fast described in Isaiah 58. As we fast we will get hungry. We learn in Matthew that Jesus was hungry after fasting. In this hungry state the devil tempts him to doubt the goodness of God, and implies that perhaps he is not God's son after all. Jesus' reply is crucial, 'We don't live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Dallas Willard points out that Jesus here is telling us a deep truth of the universe – that it is God who sustains us. A great way that God nourishes us is through the Bible. On the back of our bulletin this week there was a suggested reading plan to help us take in nourishment from the Bible. A way we recommend for engaging with the Bible we call SOAP. SOAP is an acronym: Scripture-Observation-Application-Prayer. And just as it is good to use soap daily, in the same way a regular practice of SOAP will help our souls flourish. SOAP During this fast I thought that I would do a brief SOAP based on the passage of the day. S – Acts 1:7-8 7 He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' O – The chapter opens with Luke saying that his first volume was about 'all that Jesus began to do…' the message is clear that Jesus is alive and will continue his work through Holy Spirit. In verse 7 the disciples are still missing the point – the Kingdom revolution (as he as showing himself to be alive he talked to them about the Kingdom) – is not simply about their hopes for Israel it is centered on Jesus and that he perfectly shows us who God is. The disciples will receive power – they won't have to carry out the revolution under their own steam-and with this power they will point to Jesus. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we experience the reality that Jesus is alive, and that he has empowered us by his Spirit to point to him. P-Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me! And let your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as in Heaven! A number of us are entering into a 12 day Daniel fast, as a way of focusing our hearts on God in this New Year. As we fast Zach has suggested that we ask God how he would have us participate in Southside's dream of being out of debt; and how God might lead us to participate in the dream of planting ten ekklesia (churches) in the next ten years; and I would add one additional suggestion; ask God what it means for us to participated in the fast described in Isaiah 58. As we fast we will get hungry. We learn in Matthew that Jesus was hungry after fasting. In this hungry state the devil tempts him to doubt the goodness of God, and implies that perhaps he is not God's son after all. Jesus' reply is crucial, 'We don't live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Dallas Willard points out that Jesus here is telling us a deep truth of the universe – that it is God who sustains us. A great way that God nourishes us is through the Bible. On the back of our bulletin this week there was a suggested reading plan to help us take in nourishment from the Bible. A way we recommend for engaging with the Bible we call SOAP. SOAP is an acronym: Scripture-Observation-Application-Prayer. And just as it is good to use soap daily, in the same way a regular practice of SOAP will help our souls flourish. SOAP During this fast I thought that I would do a brief SOAP based on the passage of the day. S – Acts 1:7-8 7 He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' O – The chapter opens with Luke saying that his first volume was about 'all that Jesus began to do…' the message is clear that Jesus is alive and will continue his work through Holy Spirit. In verse 7 the disciples are still missing the point – the Kingdom revolution (as he as showing himself to be alive he talked to them about the Kingdom) – is not simply about their hopes for Israel it is centered on Jesus and that he perfectly shows us who God is. The disciples will receive power – they won't have to carry out the revolution under their own steam-and with this power they will point to Jesus. A-We apply ourselves to this passage as we experience the reality that Jesus is alive, and that he has empowered us by his Spirit to point to him. P-Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me! And let your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as in Heaven! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=39189 39189 Mon, 7 Jan 2013 20:58:00 +0000 Hey Friends,Thsese are the reflections Cal shared during the paryer time before and after our celebration on Sunday: Some early morning thoughts about the events in Sandy Hook Elementary School – Many of us have had significant losses of those we love. Many of us have some understanding of the reaction of parents, grandparents and loved ones of having their family members or close friends taken from them too soon. We know something about their grief – in this case parents who will have empty beds in their homes, presents under their tree with no one to receive them. Funerals at Christmas time. Loss that words can never express. But how do we handle this? And we have more questions - Where did this come from? Very clearly, this is the work of evil! I have not heard of anyone saying that this is from good. The evil one gained control for a while. The Bible says clearly: He, the evil one, has come to kill, steal, and destroy! Some may say – This is God's will or this is God's judgement. My response is very strong!!! This is not from God's hand!!! Jesus, God's Son, the most perfect representation of God on earth said, 'I have come so that they may have life, and that more abundantly. I have seen Jesus in the Bible. I believe God certainly spoke through Jesus. I have seen workings of the Holy Spirit. The things God does, the things He says, look nothing like the events at Sandy Hook. I have heard God speak to me. He spoke my name. It was the voice of love. It was a voice of kindness. Where was God while this was happening? He was right there! His angels were there. His heart was breaking. These were His children. His Father's heart was filled will grief, even more than ours. But why didn't He stop it? I don't know. What do we do about this thing? Jesus, when He experienced these things prayed, ' Father forgive them, They don't know what they're doing. Remember the Amish schoolhouse thing? The Amish elders said they had to start with forgiveness before healing could begin. Should we do anything different? But how can we forgive something like this? We can't. Only God forgives. But we cannot hold on to the evil and continue it. We must pronounce forgiveness that we understand the person was overcome with evil, and we must overcome evil with good – not with bitterness and hatred. I would suggest we start right now, right here. Make every effort we can to show and share God's message of LOVE – not railing against the evil and violence of our enemy. We can bring God's love – God's heart – to as many people we can. We can pronounce God's forgiveness in Jesus the Messiah, not for evil men, but for those who will receive Him. We can be agents for healing. We can bring food, clothing, shoes, water, shelter, mercy and justice to those of our neighbors who do not have them. We can do what we can. Each one of us with our hands, with our feet, with our hearts, with our gifts – to overcome evil with good. Can we join together, and offer our hearts together to bring God's kingdom, God's Love, God's care to those He shows us. Hey Friends,Thsese are the reflections Cal shared during the paryer time before and after our celebration on Sunday: Some early morning thoughts about the events in Sandy Hook Elementary School – Many of us have had significant losses of those we love. Many of us have some understanding of the reaction of parents, grandparents and loved ones of having their family members or close friends taken from them too soon. We know something about their grief – in this case parents who will have empty beds in their homes, presents under their tree with no one to receive them. Funerals at Christmas time. Loss that words can never express. But how do we handle this? And we have more questions - Where did this come from? Very clearly, this is the work of evil! I have not heard of anyone saying that this is from good. The evil one gained control for a while. The Bible says clearly: He, the evil one, has come to kill, steal, and destroy! Some may say – This is God's will or this is God's judgement. My response is very strong!!! This is not from God's hand!!! Jesus, God's Son, the most perfect representation of God on earth said, 'I have come so that they may have life, and that more abundantly. I have seen Jesus in the Bible. I believe God certainly spoke through Jesus. I have seen workings of the Holy Spirit. The things God does, the things He says, look nothing like the events at Sandy Hook. I have heard God speak to me. He spoke my name. It was the voice of love. It was a voice of kindness. Where was God while this was happening? He was right there! His angels were there. His heart was breaking. These were His children. His Father's heart was filled will grief, even more than ours. But why didn't He stop it? I don't know. What do we do about this thing? Jesus, when He experienced these things prayed, ' Father forgive them, They don't know what they're doing. Remember the Amish schoolhouse thing? The Amish elders said they had to start with forgiveness before healing could begin. Should we do anything different? But how can we forgive something like this? We can't. Only God forgives. But we cannot hold on to the evil and continue it. We must pronounce forgiveness that we understand the person was overcome with evil, and we must overcome evil with good – not with bitterness and hatred. I would suggest we start right now, right here. Make every effort we can to show and share God's message of LOVE – not railing against the evil and violence of our enemy. We can bring God's love – God's heart – to as many people we can. We can pronounce God's forgiveness in Jesus the Messiah, not for evil men, but for those who will receive Him. We can be agents for healing. We can bring food, clothing, shoes, water, shelter, mercy and justice to those of our neighbors who do not have them. We can do what we can. Each one of us with our hands, with our feet, with our hearts, with our gifts – to overcome evil with good. Can we join together, and offer our hearts together to bring God's kingdom, God's Love, God's care to those He shows us. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38937 38937 Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:17:00 +0000 As we entered the second week of our participation in Advent Conspiracy we focused on Giving More like Jesus. Jesus gave relationally. The ultimate gift that Jesus gives is himself. Jesus gives himself out of the fullness that flows from his connection with the Father and the Holy Spirit. From that fullness we receive grace upon grace. As we look at Jesus we learn something crucial about giving. The gift we are all hungry for (whether or not we are aware of it) is the gift of relationship with the living God. Jesus in moving towards us gives us brings us into relationship with the Father so that we may be called the children of God. If we are to give ourselves relationally to others, we must be deeply and richly connected to God, then from this place of fullness, and this sense that God is enough we will be able to give ourselves away. But, we will only be able to do this if we have a good and beautiful understanding of God. We find the true representation of God in Jesus. Sunday was both a fun and weird day for me, and also quite revealing. First sometimes it fun just to be silly, second I'll admit my taste in clothes was weird. Third thinking about the morning revealed that I am still in many ways a pretty religious (and not in the best sense of this word) man. I'm religious in the sense that I, at times, I conceive of God as completely humorless, and perpetually agitated. This god would have no humor and would be completely offended that I would dress as I did… This portrait of God is available and is found in one of the most famous sermons ever given in North America, Sinners in the hands of an angry God: The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. In my most religious moments this is what I fear God is like. This god really dislikes me and you. However this god, does not look like Jesus who was a friend of sinners, who gave grace upon grace and was full of grace and truth. Who cried out on the cross 'Father forgive them.' This Jesus told his earliest followers, if you have seen me you have seen the Father. To give more like Jesus. I need to be completely captured by the one who loves me as I am, and desires to be with me right now as I am. This one who approaches us with Grace and Truth. Grace that meets us right where we are right at this moment. Truth, that says that we are made in the image of the Living God, and were meant to be co-workers with God, but that we have turned God. This Truth invites us to return and grow and spread the revolutionary love of our King. I dream of a fellowship of people who think God looks exactly like Jesus and that Jesus perfectly represents his good and beautiful Father, and that he has given us grace upon grace. Then as we discover the grace of Jesus and look like him, we will be ambassadors of grace to the world. Glad to be conspiring with you. As we entered the second week of our participation in Advent Conspiracy we focused on Giving More like Jesus. Jesus gave relationally. The ultimate gift that Jesus gives is himself. Jesus gives himself out of the fullness that flows from his connection with the Father and the Holy Spirit. From that fullness we receive grace upon grace. As we look at Jesus we learn something crucial about giving. The gift we are all hungry for (whether or not we are aware of it) is the gift of relationship with the living God. Jesus in moving towards us gives us brings us into relationship with the Father so that we may be called the children of God. If we are to give ourselves relationally to others, we must be deeply and richly connected to God, then from this place of fullness, and this sense that God is enough we will be able to give ourselves away. But, we will only be able to do this if we have a good and beautiful understanding of God. We find the true representation of God in Jesus. Sunday was both a fun and weird day for me, and also quite revealing. First sometimes it fun just to be silly, second I'll admit my taste in clothes was weird. Third thinking about the morning revealed that I am still in many ways a pretty religious (and not in the best sense of this word) man. I'm religious in the sense that I, at times, I conceive of God as completely humorless, and perpetually agitated. This god would have no humor and would be completely offended that I would dress as I did… This portrait of God is available and is found in one of the most famous sermons ever given in North America, Sinners in the hands of an angry God: The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. In my most religious moments this is what I fear God is like. This god really dislikes me and you. However this god, does not look like Jesus who was a friend of sinners, who gave grace upon grace and was full of grace and truth. Who cried out on the cross 'Father forgive them.' This Jesus told his earliest followers, if you have seen me you have seen the Father. To give more like Jesus. I need to be completely captured by the one who loves me as I am, and desires to be with me right now as I am. This one who approaches us with Grace and Truth. Grace that meets us right where we are right at this moment. Truth, that says that we are made in the image of the Living God, and were meant to be co-workers with God, but that we have turned God. This Truth invites us to return and grow and spread the revolutionary love of our King. I dream of a fellowship of people who think God looks exactly like Jesus and that Jesus perfectly represents his good and beautiful Father, and that he has given us grace upon grace. Then as we discover the grace of Jesus and look like him, we will be ambassadors of grace to the world. Glad to be conspiring with you. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38831 38831 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:54:00 +0000 When Mary gave birth to Jesus, Rome ruled the world from India to Britannia. In the corner of the world in which Jesus was born the puppet king, Herod ruled with an iron fist. So when Magi from the East came following the sign of the star, and asked where the king of the Jews had been born - to the then king of the Jews - they caused quite a disturbance. Herod was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him. He went on a rampage ordering the death of the boys two and younger. This was the world into which Jesus came. When Jesus was born Caesar was hailed as the savior. When Jesus was born Caesar was declared to be the son of God. When Jesus was born Caesar was the bringer of peace. Caesar and the Roman legions brought peace through terror. They nailed thousands to crosses at the first hint of resistance. Into this world Jesus is born the helpless baby of an unwed teenage mom. The Magi as they worship serve as models for us. As we saw Sunday, when we fully worship the infant King it frees us and those around us. The main weapon of the empire was terror, deat, and the fear of death. The Magi model fearless worship of the King born on the underside of power. In the face of the powers that be, the Magi defiantly worship the true King of kings and Lord of Lord. They were not naive – they were fearless. In their worship they brought the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrh. These gifts enabled Mary, Joseph and Jesus to escape to Egypt. Their worship freed others. In the same way when we fully worship Jesus we are set free from the gods of this age. The gods of consumerism, and as we are set free others are set free as well. May we be the people who are truly free and worship freely, and in our worship may others be set free. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, Rome ruled the world from India to Britannia. In the corner of the world in which Jesus was born the puppet king, Herod ruled with an iron fist. So when Magi from the East came following the sign of the star, and asked where the king of the Jews had been born - to the then king of the Jews - they caused quite a disturbance. Herod was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him. He went on a rampage ordering the death of the boys two and younger. This was the world into which Jesus came. When Jesus was born Caesar was hailed as the savior. When Jesus was born Caesar was declared to be the son of God. When Jesus was born Caesar was the bringer of peace. Caesar and the Roman legions brought peace through terror. They nailed thousands to crosses at the first hint of resistance. Into this world Jesus is born the helpless baby of an unwed teenage mom. The Magi as they worship serve as models for us. As we saw Sunday, when we fully worship the infant King it frees us and those around us. The main weapon of the empire was terror, deat, and the fear of death. The Magi model fearless worship of the King born on the underside of power. In the face of the powers that be, the Magi defiantly worship the true King of kings and Lord of Lord. They were not naive – they were fearless. In their worship they brought the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrh. These gifts enabled Mary, Joseph and Jesus to escape to Egypt. Their worship freed others. In the same way when we fully worship Jesus we are set free from the gods of this age. The gods of consumerism, and as we are set free others are set free as well. May we be the people who are truly free and worship freely, and in our worship may others be set free. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38756 38756 Thu, 6 Dec 2012 21:49:00 +0000 I'm really excited for this season... I feel like a kid at Christmas:Here's some of the reasons I'm really excited for this season... I feel like a kid at Christmas:Here's some of the reasons http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38608 38608 Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:43:00 +0000 Paul, a first century participant in Jesus' revolution of Love, sent a letter to a community of Jesus followers in Philippi. He sent the letter from a jail cell in Rome (most likely) where he was awaiting trial. He eventually would be tried and beheaded, but at the moment his concern was for his friends who were following Jesus in Philippi. He wrote them a letter overflowing with warmth, and thankfulness for their friendship, and for the support they had been to him as he was imprisoned. As he closes the letter he again says how thankful he is for them, and thanks them for their gift. However in thanking them he goes to some length to suggest that he was fine, and the reason he was thankful for their gift is that it was actually good for them to give. He desires that it be 'credited to their account.' And he says, that they will have the experience of 'God supplying all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.' In other words he is saying that the reward of giving is the experience of Jesus supplying our needs. And again he desire that they would know that he is ok. In fact he is more than ok. He tells them that he has learned to be content in any circumstance. As we noted on Sunday, our society is certainly not one that fosters contentment. We are discontent on any number of levels; with how we look; with our income; with our family; with our work; with…you name it. Ours is an age of discontent. So how important it is to hear Paul's words in this letter to his friends! Paul writes: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. For Paul the path to joy and contentment is thanks, giving and above all else a focus on Jesus. Remember that Paul is writing this from prison. By any objective standard his circumstances are grim. But Paul has a laser focus on Jesus, sees the world through the lens of his love of for Christ. He has learned in each and every circumstance to focus on Jesus. We showed this clip which is I think a fun illustration on perspective:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 It is easy to miss what you are not looking for. Paul had learned not to miss Jesus in his day to day life. Paul had learned the secret of seeing the world through Jesus. We gave a few suggestions that might be fun to try as we learn to walk out this road to joy and contentment: Try keeping a gratitude journal this week. At some point in your day stop and write 3 specific things from the day that you are thankful for. To learn joy and contentment through giving (quite a few studies show that the happiest people give) prayerfully consider: Being a full on participant in Advent Conspiracy and participating in the special giving opportunities; increasing your giving by 1% for the new year At the end of the day replay the day looking for good things and take a moment to recognize them as coming from our Good and Beautiful God Just before he closes his letter Paul draws the Philippians attention to one more amazing thing. Paul is in chains in Rome, but he adds this 'Greetings from all God's people here, and especially those in Caesar's household.' Caesar has chained Paul, but he wants his friends in Philippi to know that many people who are owned or at least work for Caesar and probably even members of Caesar's household have actually given themselves to Jesus. It's remarkable. He passes along their greeting and then closes his letter: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Paul, a first century participant in Jesus' revolution of Love, sent a letter to a community of Jesus followers in Philippi. He sent the letter from a jail cell in Rome (most likely) where he was awaiting trial. He eventually would be tried and beheaded, but at the moment his concern was for his friends who were following Jesus in Philippi. He wrote them a letter overflowing with warmth, and thankfulness for their friendship, and for the support they had been to him as he was imprisoned. As he closes the letter he again says how thankful he is for them, and thanks them for their gift. However in thanking them he goes to some length to suggest that he was fine, and the reason he was thankful for their gift is that it was actually good for them to give. He desires that it be 'credited to their account.' And he says, that they will have the experience of 'God supplying all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.' In other words he is saying that the reward of giving is the experience of Jesus supplying our needs. And again he desire that they would know that he is ok. In fact he is more than ok. He tells them that he has learned to be content in any circumstance. As we noted on Sunday, our society is certainly not one that fosters contentment. We are discontent on any number of levels; with how we look; with our income; with our family; with our work; with…you name it. Ours is an age of discontent. So how important it is to hear Paul's words in this letter to his friends! Paul writes: I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. For Paul the path to joy and contentment is thanks, giving and above all else a focus on Jesus. Remember that Paul is writing this from prison. By any objective standard his circumstances are grim. But Paul has a laser focus on Jesus, sees the world through the lens of his love of for Christ. He has learned in each and every circumstance to focus on Jesus. We showed this clip which is I think a fun illustration on perspective:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 It is easy to miss what you are not looking for. Paul had learned not to miss Jesus in his day to day life. Paul had learned the secret of seeing the world through Jesus. We gave a few suggestions that might be fun to try as we learn to walk out this road to joy and contentment: Try keeping a gratitude journal this week. At some point in your day stop and write 3 specific things from the day that you are thankful for. To learn joy and contentment through giving (quite a few studies show that the happiest people give) prayerfully consider: Being a full on participant in Advent Conspiracy and participating in the special giving opportunities; increasing your giving by 1% for the new year At the end of the day replay the day looking for good things and take a moment to recognize them as coming from our Good and Beautiful God Just before he closes his letter Paul draws the Philippians attention to one more amazing thing. Paul is in chains in Rome, but he adds this 'Greetings from all God's people here, and especially those in Caesar's household.' Caesar has chained Paul, but he wants his friends in Philippi to know that many people who are owned or at least work for Caesar and probably even members of Caesar's household have actually given themselves to Jesus. It's remarkable. He passes along their greeting and then closes his letter: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38536 38536 Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:31:00 +0000 While Paul was chained up in a Roman dungeon he received word that there was conflict within the community of Jesus that he had helped launch at Philippi. The conflict was between two women, whom Paul describes as contending at his side, named Euodia and Syntyche. Paul in this letter which would have been read publicly before the whole community writes: I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel,… On the surface this may seem like sort of a throw-away part of the letter, to us, but think how riveting this part would have been to the Philippian community. These women were leaders in the community, and most likely would have been right there as the letter was read. This for Paul is a crucially important matter. There is a rift between them and for Paul this has implications in their partnership in the gospel. Paul pleads with them to be of the same mind in the Lord. I wonder how much his own history played into desiring to see Euodia and Syntyche be one in the Lord. There is an incident from Paul's history that must have been somewhat painful for him to remember that is recorded in Acts 15. At the opening of that chapter Paul and his ministry partner Barnabbas are dispatched to Jerusalem to contend with people who were saying that in order to follow Jesus people needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabbas vigorously argue together that this is not the case, and they hold the day. This is a significant victory for them as a team, but as the chapter comes to a close we read this: 36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. This same Paul writes to these two women to be of the same mind. One thing that I have found comforting as I reflect on this passage is that Paul wrote this at the start of the letter: I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And a little later he wrote: 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul apparently knew a little something about being a work in progress. He knew his past and that he had such a sharp dispute with his friend that it meant an end of their working relationship, but he also knew that he is being changed and that he growing and that he is pressing on. So he pleads with these women, and I would guess that he is pleading, while believing that it would actually be possible for them to be of the same mind in the Lord. I'm convinced that in the Lord, is the key phrase in his pleadings. We noted on Sunday that we have two typical responses when faced with conflict. First we have the flight response. This response only seems to grow as directly face each other and focus on the cause of the dispute and what we see the other person doing wrong. The second response, if the fight is not going our way, or we simply get tired of the fight, is the flight response. We simply begin avoiding that person and the situation. Paul is suggesting a third way. This is not a throw away banal plea to just get along. Paul is saying neither fight nor flee, but instead focus on Jesus. The next thing he write is to 'rejoice in the Lord.' There is something about rejoicing, and in particular rejoicing in Jesus that is very good for our souls. It enables us to shift our perspective and we are enabled to see the other person as another pilgrim like us stumbling along in our attempts to be like the one who emptied himself. Paul is deeply confident that the Lord is near, and that as they focus on him they will be able to be of the wame mind. We can't be sure that Paul's appeal was heard and acted on, but there is letter written probably 30 years later, that indicates that the community of Jesus at Philippi was in good health: You 'have followed the example of true love and have helped on their way, as opportunity offered, those who were bound in chains.' 'I rejoice also that your firmly rooted faith, renowned since early days, endures to the present and produces fruit for our Lord Jesus Christ.' It seems likely to me that if this church was in good health some thirty years later, that a part of the reason could have been that Syntyche and Euodia did rejoice in the Lord and found a way to be of the same mind. One thing we do know is that Paul did grow and change and that he wrote this regarding Mark: Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. May we be a people who also 'rejoice in the Lord,' and find a way through conflict to be of the same mind. While Paul was chained up in a Roman dungeon he received word that there was conflict within the community of Jesus that he had helped launch at Philippi. The conflict was between two women, whom Paul describes as contending at his side, named Euodia and Syntyche. Paul in this letter which would have been read publicly before the whole community writes: I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel,… On the surface this may seem like sort of a throw-away part of the letter, to us, but think how riveting this part would have been to the Philippian community. These women were leaders in the community, and most likely would have been right there as the letter was read. This for Paul is a crucially important matter. There is a rift between them and for Paul this has implications in their partnership in the gospel. Paul pleads with them to be of the same mind in the Lord. I wonder how much his own history played into desiring to see Euodia and Syntyche be one in the Lord. There is an incident from Paul's history that must have been somewhat painful for him to remember that is recorded in Acts 15. At the opening of that chapter Paul and his ministry partner Barnabbas are dispatched to Jerusalem to contend with people who were saying that in order to follow Jesus people needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabbas vigorously argue together that this is not the case, and they hold the day. This is a significant victory for them as a team, but as the chapter comes to a close we read this: 36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. This same Paul writes to these two women to be of the same mind. One thing that I have found comforting as I reflect on this passage is that Paul wrote this at the start of the letter: I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. And a little later he wrote: 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul apparently knew a little something about being a work in progress. He knew his past and that he had such a sharp dispute with his friend that it meant an end of their working relationship, but he also knew that he is being changed and that he growing and that he is pressing on. So he pleads with these women, and I would guess that he is pleading, while believing that it would actually be possible for them to be of the same mind in the Lord. I'm convinced that in the Lord, is the key phrase in his pleadings. We noted on Sunday that we have two typical responses when faced with conflict. First we have the flight response. This response only seems to grow as directly face each other and focus on the cause of the dispute and what we see the other person doing wrong. The second response, if the fight is not going our way, or we simply get tired of the fight, is the flight response. We simply begin avoiding that person and the situation. Paul is suggesting a third way. This is not a throw away banal plea to just get along. Paul is saying neither fight nor flee, but instead focus on Jesus. The next thing he write is to 'rejoice in the Lord.' There is something about rejoicing, and in particular rejoicing in Jesus that is very good for our souls. It enables us to shift our perspective and we are enabled to see the other person as another pilgrim like us stumbling along in our attempts to be like the one who emptied himself. Paul is deeply confident that the Lord is near, and that as they focus on him they will be able to be of the wame mind. We can't be sure that Paul's appeal was heard and acted on, but there is letter written probably 30 years later, that indicates that the community of Jesus at Philippi was in good health: You 'have followed the example of true love and have helped on their way, as opportunity offered, those who were bound in chains.' 'I rejoice also that your firmly rooted faith, renowned since early days, endures to the present and produces fruit for our Lord Jesus Christ.' It seems likely to me that if this church was in good health some thirty years later, that a part of the reason could have been that Syntyche and Euodia did rejoice in the Lord and found a way to be of the same mind. One thing we do know is that Paul did grow and change and that he wrote this regarding Mark: Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. May we be a people who also 'rejoice in the Lord,' and find a way through conflict to be of the same mind. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38482 38482 Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:11:00 +0000 In the first part of the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians we saw how following Jesus looked different than following the gods of the Roman world - particularly how following Jesus looked different than either the worship of Venus or Mars or Caesar. At the start of Chapter 3 we see how following Jesus is also very different from what we might broadly term religion. In a little bit we will work on defining religion but for now we'll be working with the idea that religion is one very powerful way of determining who is and who is out. This fascination with who is in and who is out seems to be pretty deeply embedded in us. Perhaps one of the times we are most acutely aware of the in crowd and the out crowd is when we are in those wonderful years we call middle school and high school. If you remember those years or are currently in them, there was an unwritten, but very clear system of who was in and who was out. What Paul wrote in this letter deals with this question. Paul had launched this community when he came into town and proclaimed that there was really good news there was a king besides Caesar and that king's name was Jesus. Paul had set-up the community around following Jesus. The community continued on after Paul left and new people began to be drawn by the good news of Jesus. As they were drawn to the good news they wanted to be in the community. Part of what it meant was the realizing that following Jesus looked really different than following either the goddess Venus or the god Mars. This community was centered on Jesus, but before too long here at Philippi, (and many other places that Paul had been), another group came in and started saying that there was more to it than Jesus. They were coming list of things that you needed to do to be really in. Here's what it might have felt like when these religious people arrived. Imagine for a moment that you are Roman citizen living in Philippi. You have heard that there are a group of people who gather together to follow and worship a king name Jesus. You have a friend who has begun to follow this King, and he invited you to one of their gatherings. You decide you will go with your friend, and arrive at the gathering and they talk about Jesus and tell different stories of how they met Jesus and how they have seen Jesus heal. You are intrigued. Jesus sounds different from the other gods that you worship. You are wondering what you would need to do to be in this group. Just then two other people stand-up to talk. They are giving what might be the equivalent in our gatherings to announcements. The two announcements go basically like this: Ladies we want you to know about a very special cooking class next Saturday that we are calling Church Cooking is FUN… We know you and your family love your bacon and your shrimp and especially your bacon wrapped shrimp… but those days are over! So come join us as we learn why you need to stop making lobster salad, and why a cheeseburger is always a bad idea… This is a very important class because the next person who brings shrimp cocktail to the community potluck is going to be out of the community for good! So do join us you are going to love this class! And if you are new today this class is especially for you to find out how you can fit in with this community..You'll love it. Bring a friend! Then a man stands – up: Hey and guys we don't want you to feel left out. We're holding a special hand-on class just for you called, 'Get in on what's happening – get circumcised.' In this fun and informative class you'll learn why we refer to the uncircumcised as uncircumcised dogs, and why to be 'In' in this community you need to be circumcised. And don't worry this is not going to be just a bunch of information, this is going to be a class for the man of action. We will have a highly trained Mohel on hand. A Mohel is a person trained in doing circumcisions. Let me tell you this guy is the best! So come laugh and learn and then take action so that you will be somebody who makes the cut, because you need this to be IN. Oh FYI, you might want to drink a little extra wine during the class, and it might not be a bad idea to have a ride home lined up, and your also probably going to want a few days off of work. So guys don't miss this class, and bring a friend and you'll make the cut together! It is exactly this type of situation that Paul is addressing in the section of the letter: Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. This is the most strongly worded part of the letter. To this point the warmth has been palpable, but now as Paul begins to address this issue his remarks become cold and cutting. What Paul is coming against is religion. Here I think is one of the best definitions of religion: Any system of beliefs and behaviors that people embrace and engage in as a means of ascribing transcendent worth to themselves….religious people feed the hunger of their hearts by striving to impress whatever picture of God or gods they embrace with the rightness of their beliefs and behaviors in contrast to the wrongness of others' beliefs and behaviors…religion is the most prevalent idol people latch onto. ~Greg Boyd Paul indicates that he has been a part of the system, and could out-religious any religious person: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. He is clearly saying that in the religious game – I would win. I was really religious, but he says – I now count it all as loss: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Religion Paul says is garbage compared to the privilege of knowing Christ. Christ removes boundaries between insiders and outsiders and invites all people to himself. Jesus' invitation is to lose your religion and discover the joy of relationship with him the living God. May we be the people who live joyfully in the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. In the first part of the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians we saw how following Jesus looked different than following the gods of the Roman world - particularly how following Jesus looked different than either the worship of Venus or Mars or Caesar. At the start of Chapter 3 we see how following Jesus is also very different from what we might broadly term religion. In a little bit we will work on defining religion but for now we'll be working with the idea that religion is one very powerful way of determining who is and who is out. This fascination with who is in and who is out seems to be pretty deeply embedded in us. Perhaps one of the times we are most acutely aware of the in crowd and the out crowd is when we are in those wonderful years we call middle school and high school. If you remember those years or are currently in them, there was an unwritten, but very clear system of who was in and who was out. What Paul wrote in this letter deals with this question. Paul had launched this community when he came into town and proclaimed that there was really good news there was a king besides Caesar and that king's name was Jesus. Paul had set-up the community around following Jesus. The community continued on after Paul left and new people began to be drawn by the good news of Jesus. As they were drawn to the good news they wanted to be in the community. Part of what it meant was the realizing that following Jesus looked really different than following either the goddess Venus or the god Mars. This community was centered on Jesus, but before too long here at Philippi, (and many other places that Paul had been), another group came in and started saying that there was more to it than Jesus. They were coming list of things that you needed to do to be really in. Here's what it might have felt like when these religious people arrived. Imagine for a moment that you are Roman citizen living in Philippi. You have heard that there are a group of people who gather together to follow and worship a king name Jesus. You have a friend who has begun to follow this King, and he invited you to one of their gatherings. You decide you will go with your friend, and arrive at the gathering and they talk about Jesus and tell different stories of how they met Jesus and how they have seen Jesus heal. You are intrigued. Jesus sounds different from the other gods that you worship. You are wondering what you would need to do to be in this group. Just then two other people stand-up to talk. They are giving what might be the equivalent in our gatherings to announcements. The two announcements go basically like this: Ladies we want you to know about a very special cooking class next Saturday that we are calling Church Cooking is FUN… We know you and your family love your bacon and your shrimp and especially your bacon wrapped shrimp… but those days are over! So come join us as we learn why you need to stop making lobster salad, and why a cheeseburger is always a bad idea… This is a very important class because the next person who brings shrimp cocktail to the community potluck is going to be out of the community for good! So do join us you are going to love this class! And if you are new today this class is especially for you to find out how you can fit in with this community..You'll love it. Bring a friend! Then a man stands – up: Hey and guys we don't want you to feel left out. We're holding a special hand-on class just for you called, 'Get in on what's happening – get circumcised.' In this fun and informative class you'll learn why we refer to the uncircumcised as uncircumcised dogs, and why to be 'In' in this community you need to be circumcised. And don't worry this is not going to be just a bunch of information, this is going to be a class for the man of action. We will have a highly trained Mohel on hand. A Mohel is a person trained in doing circumcisions. Let me tell you this guy is the best! So come laugh and learn and then take action so that you will be somebody who makes the cut, because you need this to be IN. Oh FYI, you might want to drink a little extra wine during the class, and it might not be a bad idea to have a ride home lined up, and your also probably going to want a few days off of work. So guys don't miss this class, and bring a friend and you'll make the cut together! It is exactly this type of situation that Paul is addressing in the section of the letter: Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. This is the most strongly worded part of the letter. To this point the warmth has been palpable, but now as Paul begins to address this issue his remarks become cold and cutting. What Paul is coming against is religion. Here I think is one of the best definitions of religion: Any system of beliefs and behaviors that people embrace and engage in as a means of ascribing transcendent worth to themselves….religious people feed the hunger of their hearts by striving to impress whatever picture of God or gods they embrace with the rightness of their beliefs and behaviors in contrast to the wrongness of others' beliefs and behaviors…religion is the most prevalent idol people latch onto. ~Greg Boyd Paul indicates that he has been a part of the system, and could out-religious any religious person: If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. He is clearly saying that in the religious game – I would win. I was really religious, but he says – I now count it all as loss: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Religion Paul says is garbage compared to the privilege of knowing Christ. Christ removes boundaries between insiders and outsiders and invites all people to himself. Jesus' invitation is to lose your religion and discover the joy of relationship with him the living God. May we be the people who live joyfully in the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38230 38230 Wed, 7 Nov 2012 08:49:00 +0000 The most important question we will wrestle with throughout our life is: What is God like? Or what are the gods like? For millennia before us humanity wrestled with this question. We wrestle with the same questions today. The Roman world was populated by many gods. They were more or less capricious, and interested in their own welfare, and demanded sacrifice and tribute from humanity in return for favors. A significant god of the Romans was Mars, the god of power and war. Rome experienced quite a few centuries of unparralled victories in war, and for this they would thank Mars and in the hopes that the victories would continue they would worship and sacrifice to Mars. One significant victory in the history of Rome was the battle of Philippi. At this battle the forces of Octavian (who became Caesar Augustus), defeated the forces of the assassins of Julius Caesar, and peace was brought to the Roman world through military triumph. In Rome, Augustus dedicated a temple to Mars to commemorate this victory. Paul, an early follower of Jesus wrote a letter to the community of Jesus followers in Philippi, and at the very heart of the letter he pleads with them to have the same mind that Jesus did: Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very natureof a servant, This is completely un-mars-like behavior. While Mars would use power for his own advantage and that of his worshipers, Christ does not use his distinct advantage of deity for his own good. He serves. Paul is urging the followers of Jesus at Philippi to think and act the same way. It would be followers of Mars who would use their power and their will and their personal charisma etc., to get 'a leg up.' It would be followers of Mars who play the game 'King of the Mountain.' Paul is saying the true God is the God who serves. In fact a good translation of the text could be this: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who-precisely because he was in very nature God – did not consider equality with God to be grounds for grasping, but poured himself out, taking the very nature of the servant. The God of the universe is the God who serves. And the followers of Jesus will be the people who have discovered that true and lasting joy is found in following this serving crucified king. There is a being in the universe who is completely dedicated to using his power for his own advantage, who is constantly using his power in attempt ascend above God. His refrain is: 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God It has been said that this being is the most miserable being in all the universe. Conversely, it has been said that the most joyous being in all the universe is the God who is perfectly seen in Jesus Christ, who precisely because he was God became a servant. As I mentioned Sunday there have certainly been days in my life (and well let's be completely honest- longer periods), when my intense focus has been on using whatever power I have for my own advantage. As I noted Sunday those were some miserable days - and not just for me. I'm convinced that on those days I was more a follower of Mars than a follower of Jesus, and they were awful. Now as we noted Sunday there is certainly not (at least not that I am aware of) explicit worship of Mars in our society, but it is perhaps not too much of a stretch to see that there is still worship of power and those who use power to get a head and be king of the mountain. But, Paul's letter and Jesus example would indicate that this is not the path to true and lasting joy. The invitation to think and act like Jesus, is an invitation to abounding joy. May we be the people who live with great joy as we follow our servant King. The most important question we will wrestle with throughout our life is: What is God like? Or what are the gods like? For millennia before us humanity wrestled with this question. We wrestle with the same questions today. The Roman world was populated by many gods. They were more or less capricious, and interested in their own welfare, and demanded sacrifice and tribute from humanity in return for favors. A significant god of the Romans was Mars, the god of power and war. Rome experienced quite a few centuries of unparralled victories in war, and for this they would thank Mars and in the hopes that the victories would continue they would worship and sacrifice to Mars. One significant victory in the history of Rome was the battle of Philippi. At this battle the forces of Octavian (who became Caesar Augustus), defeated the forces of the assassins of Julius Caesar, and peace was brought to the Roman world through military triumph. In Rome, Augustus dedicated a temple to Mars to commemorate this victory. Paul, an early follower of Jesus wrote a letter to the community of Jesus followers in Philippi, and at the very heart of the letter he pleads with them to have the same mind that Jesus did: Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very natureof a servant, This is completely un-mars-like behavior. While Mars would use power for his own advantage and that of his worshipers, Christ does not use his distinct advantage of deity for his own good. He serves. Paul is urging the followers of Jesus at Philippi to think and act the same way. It would be followers of Mars who would use their power and their will and their personal charisma etc., to get 'a leg up.' It would be followers of Mars who play the game 'King of the Mountain.' Paul is saying the true God is the God who serves. In fact a good translation of the text could be this: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who-precisely because he was in very nature God – did not consider equality with God to be grounds for grasping, but poured himself out, taking the very nature of the servant. The God of the universe is the God who serves. And the followers of Jesus will be the people who have discovered that true and lasting joy is found in following this serving crucified king. There is a being in the universe who is completely dedicated to using his power for his own advantage, who is constantly using his power in attempt ascend above God. His refrain is: 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God It has been said that this being is the most miserable being in all the universe. Conversely, it has been said that the most joyous being in all the universe is the God who is perfectly seen in Jesus Christ, who precisely because he was God became a servant. As I mentioned Sunday there have certainly been days in my life (and well let's be completely honest- longer periods), when my intense focus has been on using whatever power I have for my own advantage. As I noted Sunday those were some miserable days - and not just for me. I'm convinced that on those days I was more a follower of Mars than a follower of Jesus, and they were awful. Now as we noted Sunday there is certainly not (at least not that I am aware of) explicit worship of Mars in our society, but it is perhaps not too much of a stretch to see that there is still worship of power and those who use power to get a head and be king of the mountain. But, Paul's letter and Jesus example would indicate that this is not the path to true and lasting joy. The invitation to think and act like Jesus, is an invitation to abounding joy. May we be the people who live with great joy as we follow our servant King. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=38106 38106 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:32:00 +0000 The people of ancient Philippi lived as Roman citizens within the Roman narrative. The Roman narrative among other things promised peace –pax romana, and swore allegiance to a lord – Caesar. The people served many gods among them were, Caesar (son of God), Venus - goddess of love and beauty, Mars god of power and war, and Mammon. Paul an early follower of Jesus had travelled to Philippi and proclaimed good news of another king, Jesus. People began to follow this new king and an ekklessia (assembly of people – this is the word we translate church) was established. This ekklessia committed themselves to living faithfully to King Jesus. Paul was eventually beaten and jailed (one of the empire's favorite ways of maintaining peace) along with his companion Silas for his proclamation that Jesus was Lord, and for the act of delivering a slave girl from her bondage to a spirit. Upon his release, the city officials forced Paul out of the City. He continued his travels proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus. This unrelenting proclamation eventually landed him in a prison in Rome, the center of the empire. As N. T. Wright says, 'His missionary work must be conceived not simply in terms of a traveling evangelist offering people a new religious experience, but of an ambassador for a king-in-waiting, establishing cells of people loyal to this new king, and ordering their lives according to his story, …This could only be construed as deeply counter-imperial, as subversive to the whole edifice of the Roman Empire …When he ended up in prison as a result of his work he took it as a sign that he had been doing his job properly.' From prison (most likely in Rome, but possibly in Ephesus), Paul wrote back to his friends in Philippi, the ekklessia, who were following King Jesus. We have this letter in our New Testament. It is a letter brimming with joy and courage. In the section we looked at on Sunday, October 21, Paul writes about his imprisonment, as well as the joy and courage that he had in the midst of the imprisonment. In the opening of the letter, he wrestles with the real possibility that he will be executed by Rome, and expresses confidence that even if he is executed he will act with courage so that the good news of the kingship of Jesus will go forward. He is convinced that he will act with courage, becuase he is confinced that his king has beaten death. So his king can defeat the ultimate trump card of the empire - death.He then encourages his friends in Philippi to have the same type of courage. Paul lived from a deep conviction that the kingship of Jesus superceded all other lords and gods. One of the people from Philippi who had become a follower of Jesus was a man named Epaphroditus. His name literally means belonging to Aphrodite. This is a man who from birth has been claimed by the goddess Venus. But, through Paul's proclamation of King Jesus, Epaphroditus has been set free and claimed by Jesus. Now as we noted on Sunday we no longer have official shrines to Venus (at least none that I am aware of, but maybe we have unofficial shrines – I wonder if Barbie might qualify as embodiment of the worship of Venus, and some of the stores within our malls – would they qualify? – would the playboy mansion qualify?). We would not say we worship Venus, but as I noted Sunday an anthropologist or sociologist 2000 years from now could probably be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that our society as a whole maintained a robust worship of Venus. I don't want to belabor statistics from Sunday, (as Leah helpfully pointed out to me I sort of went on and on about flat abs - point taken -but if it just take a look at men's health cover this week when you are in the check-out aisle and see if our culture is not a little obsessed). But, when hair loss is in the top three things men worry about, and 97% of women struggle with negative body image, there is a good chance we could be a culture still capture by Venus. Our culture serves this goddess yet we find ourselves more enchained and concerned we will never measure up to her standards (Barbie were she a real woman would be 6' 2' weigh 108 pounds and would measure 36 – 18 – 34). Paul proclaimed good news to the people of Philippi that they could be freed (even if they were literally chained and beaten). He proclaimed that King Jesus was the one who would set them free. That was breathtakingly good news then. It is breathtakingly good news now. May we be the ekklessia of this King! May we be the ekklessia that embodies and proclaims this good news! The people of ancient Philippi lived as Roman citizens within the Roman narrative. The Roman narrative among other things promised peace –pax romana, and swore allegiance to a lord – Caesar. The people served many gods among them were, Caesar (son of God), Venus - goddess of love and beauty, Mars god of power and war, and Mammon. Paul an early follower of Jesus had travelled to Philippi and proclaimed good news of another king, Jesus. People began to follow this new king and an ekklessia (assembly of people – this is the word we translate church) was established. This ekklessia committed themselves to living faithfully to King Jesus. Paul was eventually beaten and jailed (one of the empire's favorite ways of maintaining peace) along with his companion Silas for his proclamation that Jesus was Lord, and for the act of delivering a slave girl from her bondage to a spirit. Upon his release, the city officials forced Paul out of the City. He continued his travels proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus. This unrelenting proclamation eventually landed him in a prison in Rome, the center of the empire. As N. T. Wright says, 'His missionary work must be conceived not simply in terms of a traveling evangelist offering people a new religious experience, but of an ambassador for a king-in-waiting, establishing cells of people loyal to this new king, and ordering their lives according to his story, …This could only be construed as deeply counter-imperial, as subversive to the whole edifice of the Roman Empire …When he ended up in prison as a result of his work he took it as a sign that he had been doing his job properly.' From prison (most likely in Rome, but possibly in Ephesus), Paul wrote back to his friends in Philippi, the ekklessia, who were following King Jesus. We have this letter in our New Testament. It is a letter brimming with joy and courage. In the section we looked at on Sunday, October 21, Paul writes about his imprisonment, as well as the joy and courage that he had in the midst of the imprisonment. In the opening of the letter, he wrestles with the real possibility that he will be executed by Rome, and expresses confidence that even if he is executed he will act with courage so that the good news of the kingship of Jesus will go forward. He is convinced that he will act with courage, becuase he is confinced that his king has beaten death. So his king can defeat the ultimate trump card of the empire - death.He then encourages his friends in Philippi to have the same type of courage. Paul lived from a deep conviction that the kingship of Jesus superceded all other lords and gods. One of the people from Philippi who had become a follower of Jesus was a man named Epaphroditus. His name literally means belonging to Aphrodite. This is a man who from birth has been claimed by the goddess Venus. But, through Paul's proclamation of King Jesus, Epaphroditus has been set free and claimed by Jesus. Now as we noted on Sunday we no longer have official shrines to Venus (at least none that I am aware of, but maybe we have unofficial shrines – I wonder if Barbie might qualify as embodiment of the worship of Venus, and some of the stores within our malls – would they qualify? – would the playboy mansion qualify?). We would not say we worship Venus, but as I noted Sunday an anthropologist or sociologist 2000 years from now could probably be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that our society as a whole maintained a robust worship of Venus. I don't want to belabor statistics from Sunday, (as Leah helpfully pointed out to me I sort of went on and on about flat abs - point taken -but if it just take a look at men's health cover this week when you are in the check-out aisle and see if our culture is not a little obsessed). But, when hair loss is in the top three things men worry about, and 97% of women struggle with negative body image, there is a good chance we could be a culture still capture by Venus. Our culture serves this goddess yet we find ourselves more enchained and concerned we will never measure up to her standards (Barbie were she a real woman would be 6' 2' weigh 108 pounds and would measure 36 – 18 – 34). Paul proclaimed good news to the people of Philippi that they could be freed (even if they were literally chained and beaten). He proclaimed that King Jesus was the one who would set them free. That was breathtakingly good news then. It is breathtakingly good news now. May we be the ekklessia of this King! May we be the ekklessia that embodies and proclaims this good news! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=37984 37984 Fri, 26 Oct 2012 10:00:00 +0000 Much of the narrative of Luke takes place during travel, or during a meal. In the final chapter of the gospel these themes are wonderfully brought together as Jesus intercepts two downcast pilgrims travelling away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. Since chapter 9 of the gospel Jesus has journeyed towards Jerusalem, now in chapter 24 he comes alongside Cleopas and his travelling companion (most likely his wife Mary – see John 19:25), as they journey away from Jerusalem. As they walk along on Sunday, the first day of the week, they are discussing all that has transpired in Jerusalem. It was certainly an amazing week. On the previous Sunday, Jesus had entered as the triumphant king. On Monday he had overturned tables in the temple and interrupted the temple sacrifices. The rest of the week he had taught in the temple telling dark parables about landowners who went away and unfaithful stewards. He also debated with the leading religious leaders. Then he celebrated the Passover with his closest associates and centered that ancient meal around himself and in so doing showed how completely he was for his disciples. That Thursday night he was arrested as he prayed in a garden. Early the next morning he was put on trial before the Roman Governor, Pilate, and sentenced to death on the charge of being a rival king to Caesar. Jesus died around 3 in the afternoon after crying out, 'Father into your hands I commend my spirit.' He was wrapped in grave clothes and placed in a new tomb, and the stone sealed the tomb. Early on Sunday morning, the first day of the new week, a group of women went to the tomb with spices they had prepared, (to mask the smell of the decay of rotting flesh), but instead of finding the body of Jesus, they were encountered by men in dazzling apparel. They told the women that Jesus had risen as he said he would. The women reported all this to Jesus' followers. A group of men ran to the tomb and found the tomb as the women had described, but they did not find the body of Jesus. Much had transpired to say the least! Cleopas and his companion discuss this as they walk the road leaving Jerusalem. Jesus walks beside them, and joins the conversation, but they don't recognize him. He wants to know what they are discussing, and they are incredulous. They ask somewhat sarcastically, if he is the only person completely unaware of what has happened in Jerusalem. After they recount the events of the past week, Jesus replies that they have missed the great narrative of scripture, that 'the Messiah must suffer and then enter into his glory.' Then he began to open the scriptures to them starting with Moses and all the prophets. Cleopas would have thought that the Messiah would lead Israel to defeat the Romans through a violent uprising. Rome, on the other hand, had a way of dealing with violent uprisings – crucifixion. In the narrative Cleopas was living in, a crucified Messiah was no Messiah – crucified Messiah was an oxymoron. Jesus, however, tells the story of scripture to show that God will triumph, as the Messiah absorbs suffering and death at the hands of the Romans and the Jewish leaders on behalf of all. And then defeats death. One of the great retellings of this Drama of the Ages is C.S. Lewis' the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and this deep mystery of defeating death through death is lovingly captured in this scene.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2O3VpubRq8 As Jesus talks with them, Cleopas and his companion find their hearts burning within them. Towards evening, (we should probably think of another narrative when God is walking in the evening in the cool of the day), they are about to reach their destination, and Jesus acts as if he is going on, but they urge him to stay with them. At the table after he has given thanks, he breaks the bread, and they recognize him. The story is hugely significant for us. It reminds us that we will know the risen Lord, as he opens the scriptures to us, and invites us into the Great Story of God. The story of the good God who made all things good, and grieves at the brokenness that has come to his creation and the people made in his image. And who has in the person of Jesus entered into death and defeated death and him who holds the power of death. We know him as we enter into this story and break bread and remember Jesus and remember that Jesus is for us. This great true story empowers us and invites us to live in the reality that our lives lived in Jesus are not in vain. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. May we be the people who live opened eyes and hearts sets ablaze with hope! Much of the narrative of Luke takes place during travel, or during a meal. In the final chapter of the gospel these themes are wonderfully brought together as Jesus intercepts two downcast pilgrims travelling away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus. Since chapter 9 of the gospel Jesus has journeyed towards Jerusalem, now in chapter 24 he comes alongside Cleopas and his travelling companion (most likely his wife Mary – see John 19:25), as they journey away from Jerusalem. As they walk along on Sunday, the first day of the week, they are discussing all that has transpired in Jerusalem. It was certainly an amazing week. On the previous Sunday, Jesus had entered as the triumphant king. On Monday he had overturned tables in the temple and interrupted the temple sacrifices. The rest of the week he had taught in the temple telling dark parables about landowners who went away and unfaithful stewards. He also debated with the leading religious leaders. Then he celebrated the Passover with his closest associates and centered that ancient meal around himself and in so doing showed how completely he was for his disciples. That Thursday night he was arrested as he prayed in a garden. Early the next morning he was put on trial before the Roman Governor, Pilate, and sentenced to death on the charge of being a rival king to Caesar. Jesus died around 3 in the afternoon after crying out, 'Father into your hands I commend my spirit.' He was wrapped in grave clothes and placed in a new tomb, and the stone sealed the tomb. Early on Sunday morning, the first day of the new week, a group of women went to the tomb with spices they had prepared, (to mask the smell of the decay of rotting flesh), but instead of finding the body of Jesus, they were encountered by men in dazzling apparel. They told the women that Jesus had risen as he said he would. The women reported all this to Jesus' followers. A group of men ran to the tomb and found the tomb as the women had described, but they did not find the body of Jesus. Much had transpired to say the least! Cleopas and his companion discuss this as they walk the road leaving Jerusalem. Jesus walks beside them, and joins the conversation, but they don't recognize him. He wants to know what they are discussing, and they are incredulous. They ask somewhat sarcastically, if he is the only person completely unaware of what has happened in Jerusalem. After they recount the events of the past week, Jesus replies that they have missed the great narrative of scripture, that 'the Messiah must suffer and then enter into his glory.' Then he began to open the scriptures to them starting with Moses and all the prophets. Cleopas would have thought that the Messiah would lead Israel to defeat the Romans through a violent uprising. Rome, on the other hand, had a way of dealing with violent uprisings – crucifixion. In the narrative Cleopas was living in, a crucified Messiah was no Messiah – crucified Messiah was an oxymoron. Jesus, however, tells the story of scripture to show that God will triumph, as the Messiah absorbs suffering and death at the hands of the Romans and the Jewish leaders on behalf of all. And then defeats death. One of the great retellings of this Drama of the Ages is C.S. Lewis' the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and this deep mystery of defeating death through death is lovingly captured in this scene.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2O3VpubRq8 As Jesus talks with them, Cleopas and his companion find their hearts burning within them. Towards evening, (we should probably think of another narrative when God is walking in the evening in the cool of the day), they are about to reach their destination, and Jesus acts as if he is going on, but they urge him to stay with them. At the table after he has given thanks, he breaks the bread, and they recognize him. The story is hugely significant for us. It reminds us that we will know the risen Lord, as he opens the scriptures to us, and invites us into the Great Story of God. The story of the good God who made all things good, and grieves at the brokenness that has come to his creation and the people made in his image. And who has in the person of Jesus entered into death and defeated death and him who holds the power of death. We know him as we enter into this story and break bread and remember Jesus and remember that Jesus is for us. This great true story empowers us and invites us to live in the reality that our lives lived in Jesus are not in vain. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. May we be the people who live opened eyes and hearts sets ablaze with hope! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=37431 37431 Wed, 3 Oct 2012 09:50:00 +0000 The Romans crucified Jesus between two criminals, who perhaps like Barabbas had participated in an insurrection. The Romans liberally used crucifixion as a powerful symbol and reminder of who held power, and the consequences of coming against Rome. The very public and humiliating way in which people were displayed communicated the grave danger of opposing Rome. The pax romana, peace of Rome was kept with crosses. It was a display of who Rome was. Jesus completely transforms the cross so that today it is the most recognized symbol in all the world. On this instrument of Roman power and torture, Jesus spends his breath to cry out 'Father forgive them.' Crucifixion killed through asphyxiation, slowly robbing the victims of breath through the pressure it put on the diaphragm. Each breath was bought by the victim pushing themselves up against the nails through their feet while pulling up against the nails through the victim's wrists. Most victims if they could get the breath to speak would scream out curses and invectives against their executioners. Jesus in a moment that is the hinge of history, cries out for his Father to forgive those who are killing him. Jesus with this cry perfectly displays the heart of God. As we noted on Sunday, even in this moment Jesus is crying out to his Father. Jesus reflects perfect love and trust of the One who called out at his baptism, 'You are my beloved Son.' Jesus taught his disciples to pray, 'Father,…' and in this moment as he hangs on the Roman execution stake, Jesus again calls out to his Father. And then with his last breath he commits himself in to the good and loving hands of his Father. Jesus calls out for his Father to forgive those who have arranged and carried out his execution. Here we come to the center of the Heart of God. God's heart is for people. Jesus throughout the gospel of Luke has been proclaiming forgiveness. The Old Testament spoke in glowing terms of the happiness of those who were forgiven. Now in this moment Jesus asks that even his crucifixion not be held against people. Paul writes about this deep mystery in 2 Corinthians: 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.' The unbelievably good news of the gospel is that God is not counting people's sins against them. God is inviting people to turn to him and as they turn to find that they are loved, accepted and forgiven. Remember throughout this whole gospel how Jesus has welcomed sinners. He has attracted them like a magnet draws steel. The invitation of the New Testament is to look in the face of the crucified Messiah and hear him cry out to His Father to forgive, and as we see and hear to say 'Here is our God. Here is our King!' Jesus perfectly reflects God. Jesus is perfect Theology! I can't get over just how good, this good news is. I'm afraid that much of my life I have pictured God as more of a cosmic inspector Javert, from Les Miserables. Meticulously keeping track of each of my sins, perpetually angry and holding my past against me. Dredging up my past and holding it against me. The New Testament goes to lengths to make clear that if there is a cosmic Javert it is actually the accuser of the brethren. Paul in a hugely important section of Colossians writes, that it was actually the regime of the enemy, and the enemies tactic that was exposed and nailed to the cross: '13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.15 He disarmed the rulers and authoritiesand put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. ' The past my sins, your sins have been nailed to the cross and the powers who would dredge up the past have been exposed! Again as I write words fail me. So I turn once again to Les Miserables and the bishop who in an act of grace and forgiveness purchases and transforms the criminal Jean Valjean. May we see in Jesus the complete beauty and goodness of God. The Romans crucified Jesus between two criminals, who perhaps like Barabbas had participated in an insurrection. The Romans liberally used crucifixion as a powerful symbol and reminder of who held power, and the consequences of coming against Rome. The very public and humiliating way in which people were displayed communicated the grave danger of opposing Rome. The pax romana, peace of Rome was kept with crosses. It was a display of who Rome was. Jesus completely transforms the cross so that today it is the most recognized symbol in all the world. On this instrument of Roman power and torture, Jesus spends his breath to cry out 'Father forgive them.' Crucifixion killed through asphyxiation, slowly robbing the victims of breath through the pressure it put on the diaphragm. Each breath was bought by the victim pushing themselves up against the nails through their feet while pulling up against the nails through the victim's wrists. Most victims if they could get the breath to speak would scream out curses and invectives against their executioners. Jesus in a moment that is the hinge of history, cries out for his Father to forgive those who are killing him. Jesus with this cry perfectly displays the heart of God. As we noted on Sunday, even in this moment Jesus is crying out to his Father. Jesus reflects perfect love and trust of the One who called out at his baptism, 'You are my beloved Son.' Jesus taught his disciples to pray, 'Father,…' and in this moment as he hangs on the Roman execution stake, Jesus again calls out to his Father. And then with his last breath he commits himself in to the good and loving hands of his Father. Jesus calls out for his Father to forgive those who have arranged and carried out his execution. Here we come to the center of the Heart of God. God's heart is for people. Jesus throughout the gospel of Luke has been proclaiming forgiveness. The Old Testament spoke in glowing terms of the happiness of those who were forgiven. Now in this moment Jesus asks that even his crucifixion not be held against people. Paul writes about this deep mystery in 2 Corinthians: 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.' The unbelievably good news of the gospel is that God is not counting people's sins against them. God is inviting people to turn to him and as they turn to find that they are loved, accepted and forgiven. Remember throughout this whole gospel how Jesus has welcomed sinners. He has attracted them like a magnet draws steel. The invitation of the New Testament is to look in the face of the crucified Messiah and hear him cry out to His Father to forgive, and as we see and hear to say 'Here is our God. Here is our King!' Jesus perfectly reflects God. Jesus is perfect Theology! I can't get over just how good, this good news is. I'm afraid that much of my life I have pictured God as more of a cosmic inspector Javert, from Les Miserables. Meticulously keeping track of each of my sins, perpetually angry and holding my past against me. Dredging up my past and holding it against me. The New Testament goes to lengths to make clear that if there is a cosmic Javert it is actually the accuser of the brethren. Paul in a hugely important section of Colossians writes, that it was actually the regime of the enemy, and the enemies tactic that was exposed and nailed to the cross: '13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.15 He disarmed the rulers and authoritiesand put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. ' The past my sins, your sins have been nailed to the cross and the powers who would dredge up the past have been exposed! Again as I write words fail me. So I turn once again to Les Miserables and the bishop who in an act of grace and forgiveness purchases and transforms the criminal Jean Valjean. May we see in Jesus the complete beauty and goodness of God. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=37290 37290 Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:52:00 +0000 Jesus gathered on Thursday evening to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. He reclined at the table with them for this meal, and told them that it was his eager desire to eat this meal with them. We noted on Sunday that this meal reveals his passionate heart for us. Jesus desires to be with us. Throughout the Bible we see the story of God desiring to be with people. In the garden he is calling out to Adam in the evening (supper time) 'Adam where are you?' He desires to be with him. Jesus' celebration of this meal shows this strong desire that Jesus has to be with people. As the meal progressed he took bread (the unleavened bread used for Passover), and broke it. The usual script for celebrating the Passover would have been for him to say, 'This is the bread of affliction.' Instead Jesus says, 'This is my body given for you.' This meal shows that at center Jesus is for us. In fact he is so for us that his body is broken for us. This meal is for us. Because Jesus is for us! Then he says whenever you eat this bread 'remember me.' Jesus knows that his death is drawing near so he desires to empower his disciples for carrying on his revolution. He wants disciples to remember him, because he knows that remembering him is the only way that we will be empowered to continue his revolution. When he says remember him, he encourages us to remember the whole of his life. Remember how he welcomed all. Remember how he chided the religious. Remember how he commanded us not to judge. Remember how he shared a meal with a tax collector. Remember how he healed. Remember how he forgave. Remember how he taught with authority. Remember what he taught. Remember how he prayed. Remember how he died. Remember that he beat death! Remember Him! Remembering Jesus re-centers us on who we are and who we are for. Jesus gives us a tangible physical reminder, and says, 'remember me.' He does the same thing with the cup. 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.' Again Jesus is for us. He desires to be with us. He is not against us. He is for us. He is so for us that he will pour himself out for us. While Jesus is giving the disciples this living reminder, the disciples are pursuing their own agenda, which has to do with sorting out which of them is the greatest. This pursuit of being important, of being the greatest is apparently an ancient game, and not just one we invented with our endless lists and rankings. (The richest people on the planet; best places to live in America; Best regional private colleges – this was the one my school of choice always pushed; Best dressed celebrities – at least here we do have the converse – worst dressed). In the midst of this Jesus again shows how he is for the disciples. He says that he is among them 'as one who serves.' He has said earlier that he did not come to be served, but rather to serve and to give himself. We can not really even imagine a world where there is not constant competition to be right; important; first etc…. We are very much consumed with our rights and with being right. But Jesus proposes an upside down kingdom where his followers look like him and aren't known for thinking they are right and that everyone else is wrong, but rather, for the outrageous way they love and serve. What really gripped me about this passage is that Jesus earnestly desired to be with his disciples and said that the bread and cup were for them, even as one of them was selling him to the religious leader, the rest were going to flee, and Peter would completely deny even knowing him. At that very moment Jesus says that he is for them. He wants to be with them! He isn't waiting for them to get cleaned up. He isn't waiting for them to get their act together. Right then at that moment he wants to be with them and he is for them. This is who Jesus is. He is for us right now, right at this moment no matter how we have messed up, regardless if we are in the midst of arguing about being right and who has the best theology, or if we completely deny him. He unfailingly desires to be with us, and he is for us. The communion meal reminds us each time we eat the bread, and drink the cup that Jesus is for us. He desires to be with us. The challenge on Sunday was to enter more deeply into this deep truth by daily receiving communion personally. Then sometime this week also sharing this meal with the people we share life with. This meal reminds us that the center of it all is our amazing beautiful king who is for us! May we be a people who experience and live this out in a way that surpasses knowledge.! Jesus gathered on Thursday evening to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. He reclined at the table with them for this meal, and told them that it was his eager desire to eat this meal with them. We noted on Sunday that this meal reveals his passionate heart for us. Jesus desires to be with us. Throughout the Bible we see the story of God desiring to be with people. In the garden he is calling out to Adam in the evening (supper time) 'Adam where are you?' He desires to be with him. Jesus' celebration of this meal shows this strong desire that Jesus has to be with people. As the meal progressed he took bread (the unleavened bread used for Passover), and broke it. The usual script for celebrating the Passover would have been for him to say, 'This is the bread of affliction.' Instead Jesus says, 'This is my body given for you.' This meal shows that at center Jesus is for us. In fact he is so for us that his body is broken for us. This meal is for us. Because Jesus is for us! Then he says whenever you eat this bread 'remember me.' Jesus knows that his death is drawing near so he desires to empower his disciples for carrying on his revolution. He wants disciples to remember him, because he knows that remembering him is the only way that we will be empowered to continue his revolution. When he says remember him, he encourages us to remember the whole of his life. Remember how he welcomed all. Remember how he chided the religious. Remember how he commanded us not to judge. Remember how he shared a meal with a tax collector. Remember how he healed. Remember how he forgave. Remember how he taught with authority. Remember what he taught. Remember how he prayed. Remember how he died. Remember that he beat death! Remember Him! Remembering Jesus re-centers us on who we are and who we are for. Jesus gives us a tangible physical reminder, and says, 'remember me.' He does the same thing with the cup. 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.' Again Jesus is for us. He desires to be with us. He is not against us. He is for us. He is so for us that he will pour himself out for us. While Jesus is giving the disciples this living reminder, the disciples are pursuing their own agenda, which has to do with sorting out which of them is the greatest. This pursuit of being important, of being the greatest is apparently an ancient game, and not just one we invented with our endless lists and rankings. (The richest people on the planet; best places to live in America; Best regional private colleges – this was the one my school of choice always pushed; Best dressed celebrities – at least here we do have the converse – worst dressed). In the midst of this Jesus again shows how he is for the disciples. He says that he is among them 'as one who serves.' He has said earlier that he did not come to be served, but rather to serve and to give himself. We can not really even imagine a world where there is not constant competition to be right; important; first etc…. We are very much consumed with our rights and with being right. But Jesus proposes an upside down kingdom where his followers look like him and aren't known for thinking they are right and that everyone else is wrong, but rather, for the outrageous way they love and serve. What really gripped me about this passage is that Jesus earnestly desired to be with his disciples and said that the bread and cup were for them, even as one of them was selling him to the religious leader, the rest were going to flee, and Peter would completely deny even knowing him. At that very moment Jesus says that he is for them. He wants to be with them! He isn't waiting for them to get cleaned up. He isn't waiting for them to get their act together. Right then at that moment he wants to be with them and he is for them. This is who Jesus is. He is for us right now, right at this moment no matter how we have messed up, regardless if we are in the midst of arguing about being right and who has the best theology, or if we completely deny him. He unfailingly desires to be with us, and he is for us. The communion meal reminds us each time we eat the bread, and drink the cup that Jesus is for us. He desires to be with us. The challenge on Sunday was to enter more deeply into this deep truth by daily receiving communion personally. Then sometime this week also sharing this meal with the people we share life with. This meal reminds us that the center of it all is our amazing beautiful king who is for us! May we be a people who experience and live this out in a way that surpasses knowledge.! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=37084 37084 Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:48:00 +0000 Jesus spent much of the week leading up to his execution by the Romans, in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was a magnificent stone structure made of huge stones and lavishly adorned in tapestry. The temple was the center of Jewish life and religion and in their mind the center of God's activity in the world. Pilgrimage to the temple formed the imagination of the Jewish people. Jesus made the pilgrimage with his disciples and then behaved as if he were in charge of the temple, by overturning the tables and causing the animals to stampede. He behaved as if he were in charge by teaching in the temple courts, and by stumping his challengers with questions of his own: Where did John's baptism come from? Whose image is on the Coin? Whose son is the Christ? In the passage we looked at on Sunday we saw that Jesus in the Temple sees the world differently. He observed the rich putting in gifts out of the abundance of what they had. In Matthew Jesus commented that many people were giving to be noticed, and from a human perspective it would have certainly made sense to notice these sizable gifts. Jesus however notices and highlights a widow who put in a very small gift (probably equivalent to about 1/100 of a days wage). Jesus said that she had actually put in more, because her giving was at a deep cost to herself. Her gift at cost to herself reflected the deep heart of God. God loves and God gives. While she would have been all but invisible to the rest of society, Jesus sees her. While Jesus sees her, his disciples are remarking on the architecture and decorations of the temple. Jesus sees people and his disciples are sight-seeing. They are impressed by architecture. Jesus sees a widow on the margins. After his disciples remark on the stones of the temple, Jesus curtly informs them that they actually are going to be all knocked down. The building won't last. The disciples are not seeing with the eyes of eternity. Jesus sees differently. The stones have not caught his eye. He has seen a woman on the margins. I believe most of us have a deep desire to know that we matter. Many of us will have had the experience at some point of our lives of just feeling invisible, as if we don't matter at all, and that we do makes no difference, and that if we were to simply disappear no one would even notice. This widow certainly would have been one of the invisible people and yet Jesus saw her and singled her out. Jesus in Matthew taught that a great way to train in the reality that God sees, is to give secretly. He urges his followers to see people on the margins and to help, but to do it secretly so that our reward won't be recognition from people, but from the Father who sees us in secret. We suggested training in the reality that Jesus sees differently by asking Jesus to bring to mind people within our lives who may go largely unnoticed, and then secretly and anonymously blessing them. Then throughout the week at set times and places praying: 'Jesus you see me! Let that be enough!' May we be the people who see as Jesus sees! Jesus spent much of the week leading up to his execution by the Romans, in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was a magnificent stone structure made of huge stones and lavishly adorned in tapestry. The temple was the center of Jewish life and religion and in their mind the center of God's activity in the world. Pilgrimage to the temple formed the imagination of the Jewish people. Jesus made the pilgrimage with his disciples and then behaved as if he were in charge of the temple, by overturning the tables and causing the animals to stampede. He behaved as if he were in charge by teaching in the temple courts, and by stumping his challengers with questions of his own: Where did John's baptism come from? Whose image is on the Coin? Whose son is the Christ? In the passage we looked at on Sunday we saw that Jesus in the Temple sees the world differently. He observed the rich putting in gifts out of the abundance of what they had. In Matthew Jesus commented that many people were giving to be noticed, and from a human perspective it would have certainly made sense to notice these sizable gifts. Jesus however notices and highlights a widow who put in a very small gift (probably equivalent to about 1/100 of a days wage). Jesus said that she had actually put in more, because her giving was at a deep cost to herself. Her gift at cost to herself reflected the deep heart of God. God loves and God gives. While she would have been all but invisible to the rest of society, Jesus sees her. While Jesus sees her, his disciples are remarking on the architecture and decorations of the temple. Jesus sees people and his disciples are sight-seeing. They are impressed by architecture. Jesus sees a widow on the margins. After his disciples remark on the stones of the temple, Jesus curtly informs them that they actually are going to be all knocked down. The building won't last. The disciples are not seeing with the eyes of eternity. Jesus sees differently. The stones have not caught his eye. He has seen a woman on the margins. I believe most of us have a deep desire to know that we matter. Many of us will have had the experience at some point of our lives of just feeling invisible, as if we don't matter at all, and that we do makes no difference, and that if we were to simply disappear no one would even notice. This widow certainly would have been one of the invisible people and yet Jesus saw her and singled her out. Jesus in Matthew taught that a great way to train in the reality that God sees, is to give secretly. He urges his followers to see people on the margins and to help, but to do it secretly so that our reward won't be recognition from people, but from the Father who sees us in secret. We suggested training in the reality that Jesus sees differently by asking Jesus to bring to mind people within our lives who may go largely unnoticed, and then secretly and anonymously blessing them. Then throughout the week at set times and places praying: 'Jesus you see me! Let that be enough!' May we be the people who see as Jesus sees! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36992 36992 Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:18:00 +0000 Jesus spent the week leading up to his crucifixion teaching the people in the temple courts. On Sunday we noted that Jesus taught people. His opponents were teachers of the Law. In other words Jesus had a people focus to his teaching, whereas it seems that his opponents were at times mostly interested in arguing and debating aspects of the law. Jesus is interested in the transformation that comes from hearing the good news. His opponents want to talk about taxes and question his authority. Jesus is focused on developing people who will carry on his revolution of love, and his opponents want to guard traditions. This will inevitably lead to conflict. His opponents –the teachers of the law- mostly taught by citing others, 'Rabbi Hillel says, ….' The teachers of the law, with the chief priests were the human authorized authorities within the temple. Jesus behaves as if he is in charge. He behaves as if he has authority to teach and instruct. So they ask him who gave you authority to act this way (overturning the tables) and to teach the people? Jesus' response is a question which is also an answer, ' I will ask you a question, who authorized John's baptism? Heaven or humans?' Earlier in the gospel in chapter 7 Luke has already clued us into the fact that the religious authorities refused to be baptized by John and in refusing to baptized they refused God's purposes for them. By this point in the gospel we should know that John's baptism was authorized by Heaven. The religious authorities are authorized by the state and the human rule of the Temple. Jesus was baptized by John, and after his baptism the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended and the voice of the Father declared him to be the Beloved Son. Jesus is telling his opponents that he has been authorized by God and they have not. The teachers of the law immediately recognize that Jesus has put them between a rock and a hard place. They can't say that John's baptism was authorized by God, because then the obvious question will be why didn't you listen? But on the other hand they can't say that it was merely human, because many people in the crowd recognized that John's baptism was authorized by God, and the crowd will turn on them if they say that John's baptism was merely human. So they say they don't know. Jesus' reply is that if they don't 'know' where John's authority came from then they won't 'understand' his either. This is a loaded passage. It indicates that it is possible for religious leaders in particular to resist the purposes of God and then double down in that resistance. It is a clarion call to recognize Jesus as the one to whom all authority has been given and to submit joyfully to his purposes. May we be the people who recognize the authority of our great king and don't resist but follow. Jesus spent the week leading up to his crucifixion teaching the people in the temple courts. On Sunday we noted that Jesus taught people. His opponents were teachers of the Law. In other words Jesus had a people focus to his teaching, whereas it seems that his opponents were at times mostly interested in arguing and debating aspects of the law. Jesus is interested in the transformation that comes from hearing the good news. His opponents want to talk about taxes and question his authority. Jesus is focused on developing people who will carry on his revolution of love, and his opponents want to guard traditions. This will inevitably lead to conflict. His opponents –the teachers of the law- mostly taught by citing others, 'Rabbi Hillel says, ….' The teachers of the law, with the chief priests were the human authorized authorities within the temple. Jesus behaves as if he is in charge. He behaves as if he has authority to teach and instruct. So they ask him who gave you authority to act this way (overturning the tables) and to teach the people? Jesus' response is a question which is also an answer, ' I will ask you a question, who authorized John's baptism? Heaven or humans?' Earlier in the gospel in chapter 7 Luke has already clued us into the fact that the religious authorities refused to be baptized by John and in refusing to baptized they refused God's purposes for them. By this point in the gospel we should know that John's baptism was authorized by Heaven. The religious authorities are authorized by the state and the human rule of the Temple. Jesus was baptized by John, and after his baptism the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended and the voice of the Father declared him to be the Beloved Son. Jesus is telling his opponents that he has been authorized by God and they have not. The teachers of the law immediately recognize that Jesus has put them between a rock and a hard place. They can't say that John's baptism was authorized by God, because then the obvious question will be why didn't you listen? But on the other hand they can't say that it was merely human, because many people in the crowd recognized that John's baptism was authorized by God, and the crowd will turn on them if they say that John's baptism was merely human. So they say they don't know. Jesus' reply is that if they don't 'know' where John's authority came from then they won't 'understand' his either. This is a loaded passage. It indicates that it is possible for religious leaders in particular to resist the purposes of God and then double down in that resistance. It is a clarion call to recognize Jesus as the one to whom all authority has been given and to submit joyfully to his purposes. May we be the people who recognize the authority of our great king and don't resist but follow. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36813 36813 Wed, 5 Sep 2012 09:53:00 +0000 As Jesus finally approached his destination in Jerusalem crowds gathered and waved palm branches and shouted 'Hosanna to the son of David!' These were Messianic cries. David was the epitome of kingship in Israel. The Jewish people hoped that a descendant of David would arise who would lead a revolt that would free them from the Roman sword. As Jesus rode a donkey down the mount of olives, they hoped that he was that kin. And he was the King descended from David only not how they thought he would be. While the crowd rejoices, Jesus catches sight of the city and begins to bawl. He sobs in mourning for a city that is unable to recognize what will actually bring it shalom. He weeps for those who before the week ends will successfully carry out a plot to have him executed. He mourns for them and for the innocents within the walls of the city. Jesus perfectly reveals the heart of the mourning God. The invitation of the New Testament is to look steadfastly at the weeping man riding into Jerusalem and say here is our God! Here is our King! God mourns when shalom is shattered. God grieves as people are unable to recognize the time of visitation. The heart of God breaks over the wrecked and ruined lives that violently oppose him and for these lives God will die. The shattering of shalom; the violent opposition to the visitation of God; the ruin of innocents; these are the things that break Jesus' heart as he rides into Jerusalem. One of the great challenges for me as the passage wrestled with me was asking – what causes an emotional reaction in me. To my embarrassment many of them are petty annoyances that are momentary inconveniences to me, and I wonder how true that is for the church in general. But by God's grace, we will become more and more the people whose hearts are broken over the shattering of Shalom in God's good and beautiful creation. 'Break my heart by what breaks yours,' will be more that just a pretty melody we sing. Jesus not only models perfect grieving he perfectly models how to be angry without sin as he walks into the temple courts and begins driving out the animals and overturning the tables where money was exchanged. The vendors teaming with the priests take advantage of the pilgrims who have travelled far with a sacrifice to the temple. They inspect the animal the pilgrims have brought and tell them that it is not temple approved and send them to merchants who sell 'temple approved' animals at a significant mark-up. They take the animal that the pilgrim brought and sell it to the next pilgrim. All this takes place in the one area of the temple where Gentiles were allowed. Beyond this the temple had become a hotbed of Jewish nationalism. The temple that was meant to be a house of prayer for all nations had become a focal point of Jewish exclusivity. Jesus in overturning the tables and driving out the animals interrupts the sacrifice. Jesus models anger and action appropriately. Again I was challenged by asking what is it that angers me. Am I angry and moved to action over the gross injustices of the world, or by the petty injustices done to me. Far too often I'm afraid that it is the latter. But by God's grace we will become the people who are angry and moved to action over the right things. The New Testament describes the people of God as God's temple. Jesus says that the temple of God is to be known as a House of Prayer. I have really been sensing recently the need to stir up prayer. Here is a letter I wrote asking for more intercession. And here is a commitment you could make to praying for the people and mission of Southside. I pray that we will be a people who mourn over the right things. I pray that we will be the people who look like Jesus – that we will be angered and moved to action by the right things. As Jesus finally approached his destination in Jerusalem crowds gathered and waved palm branches and shouted 'Hosanna to the son of David!' These were Messianic cries. David was the epitome of kingship in Israel. The Jewish people hoped that a descendant of David would arise who would lead a revolt that would free them from the Roman sword. As Jesus rode a donkey down the mount of olives, they hoped that he was that kin. And he was the King descended from David only not how they thought he would be. While the crowd rejoices, Jesus catches sight of the city and begins to bawl. He sobs in mourning for a city that is unable to recognize what will actually bring it shalom. He weeps for those who before the week ends will successfully carry out a plot to have him executed. He mourns for them and for the innocents within the walls of the city. Jesus perfectly reveals the heart of the mourning God. The invitation of the New Testament is to look steadfastly at the weeping man riding into Jerusalem and say here is our God! Here is our King! God mourns when shalom is shattered. God grieves as people are unable to recognize the time of visitation. The heart of God breaks over the wrecked and ruined lives that violently oppose him and for these lives God will die. The shattering of shalom; the violent opposition to the visitation of God; the ruin of innocents; these are the things that break Jesus' heart as he rides into Jerusalem. One of the great challenges for me as the passage wrestled with me was asking – what causes an emotional reaction in me. To my embarrassment many of them are petty annoyances that are momentary inconveniences to me, and I wonder how true that is for the church in general. But by God's grace, we will become more and more the people whose hearts are broken over the shattering of Shalom in God's good and beautiful creation. 'Break my heart by what breaks yours,' will be more that just a pretty melody we sing. Jesus not only models perfect grieving he perfectly models how to be angry without sin as he walks into the temple courts and begins driving out the animals and overturning the tables where money was exchanged. The vendors teaming with the priests take advantage of the pilgrims who have travelled far with a sacrifice to the temple. They inspect the animal the pilgrims have brought and tell them that it is not temple approved and send them to merchants who sell 'temple approved' animals at a significant mark-up. They take the animal that the pilgrim brought and sell it to the next pilgrim. All this takes place in the one area of the temple where Gentiles were allowed. Beyond this the temple had become a hotbed of Jewish nationalism. The temple that was meant to be a house of prayer for all nations had become a focal point of Jewish exclusivity. Jesus in overturning the tables and driving out the animals interrupts the sacrifice. Jesus models anger and action appropriately. Again I was challenged by asking what is it that angers me. Am I angry and moved to action over the gross injustices of the world, or by the petty injustices done to me. Far too often I'm afraid that it is the latter. But by God's grace we will become the people who are angry and moved to action over the right things. The New Testament describes the people of God as God's temple. Jesus says that the temple of God is to be known as a House of Prayer. I have really been sensing recently the need to stir up prayer. Here is a letter I wrote asking for more intercession. And here is a commitment you could make to praying for the people and mission of Southside. I pray that we will be a people who mourn over the right things. I pray that we will be the people who look like Jesus – that we will be angered and moved to action by the right things. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36683 36683 Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:09:00 +0000 On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through the city of Jericho. As he approached the city, Jesus was surrounded by a crowd. Sitting outside the city was man who was blind, as he heard the crowd the man began to cry out 'Jesus, son of David have mercy on me!' The people leading the procession try to hush him up. I think they just wanted the parade to march smoothly into Jericho, so they didn't welcome the interruption that this was. The man, however, shouted all the more, 'Son of David have mercy!' As we noted on Sunday, August 19, this man modeled a few key things having to do with prayer that Jesus had just highlighted. The man first models crying out for mercy. Just a bit earlier Jesus had told a parable 'to some who were confident of their own righteousness.' In the parable Jesus tells about two men who went up to the temple to pray. One man was a Pharisee and he begins his prayer by listing all the people he is better than, and then telling God all about all the good things he is doing – fasting and tithing. Among the list of people he says he is better than is a tax collector that is also there to pray. This tax collector does not even lift his head, but instead beats his chest and says, 'God have mercy on me a sinner.' Jesus says that this man went away justified rather than the Pharisee. Outside the city of Jericho the man who is blind echoes this prayer. This prayer Lord have mercy has become one of the central prayers of the Church. In praying 'Lord have mercy!' we are recognizing that we are not God and we are ever in need of his mercy. The man also models persistence prayer. Jesus had also told a parable 'to show that they should always pray and not give up.' As we noticed earlier in Luke persistent prayer has a powerful effect. The man outside of Jericho refuses to be quieted by those leading the procession. Jesus in response calls for the man, and when the man is brought to him, Jesus says to the man, 'What do you want.' The man who had been outside of the city boldly asks that his sight be restored. Jesus tells him that the man's faith had made him whole. And please remember that faith is covenantal trust in a person. This man models that trust in Jesus, and has his eyes healed. May we be the people who have deep trust in Jesus. Who cry out persistently for his mercy! On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through the city of Jericho. As he approached the city, Jesus was surrounded by a crowd. Sitting outside the city was man who was blind, as he heard the crowd the man began to cry out 'Jesus, son of David have mercy on me!' The people leading the procession try to hush him up. I think they just wanted the parade to march smoothly into Jericho, so they didn't welcome the interruption that this was. The man, however, shouted all the more, 'Son of David have mercy!' As we noted on Sunday, August 19, this man modeled a few key things having to do with prayer that Jesus had just highlighted. The man first models crying out for mercy. Just a bit earlier Jesus had told a parable 'to some who were confident of their own righteousness.' In the parable Jesus tells about two men who went up to the temple to pray. One man was a Pharisee and he begins his prayer by listing all the people he is better than, and then telling God all about all the good things he is doing – fasting and tithing. Among the list of people he says he is better than is a tax collector that is also there to pray. This tax collector does not even lift his head, but instead beats his chest and says, 'God have mercy on me a sinner.' Jesus says that this man went away justified rather than the Pharisee. Outside the city of Jericho the man who is blind echoes this prayer. This prayer Lord have mercy has become one of the central prayers of the Church. In praying 'Lord have mercy!' we are recognizing that we are not God and we are ever in need of his mercy. The man also models persistence prayer. Jesus had also told a parable 'to show that they should always pray and not give up.' As we noticed earlier in Luke persistent prayer has a powerful effect. The man outside of Jericho refuses to be quieted by those leading the procession. Jesus in response calls for the man, and when the man is brought to him, Jesus says to the man, 'What do you want.' The man who had been outside of the city boldly asks that his sight be restored. Jesus tells him that the man's faith had made him whole. And please remember that faith is covenantal trust in a person. This man models that trust in Jesus, and has his eyes healed. May we be the people who have deep trust in Jesus. Who cry out persistently for his mercy! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36523 36523 Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:35:00 +0000 On Sunday August 12 we continued our series in Luke as we dove into the first section of Luke 17. In this section Jesus is addressing his disciples, that is those people who are following him and learning what it means to be truly human. In the past few chapters the conversation has bounced from the crowd to the disciples to the Pharisees and back in different combinations. Chapter 16 concludes with a teaching directed at the Pharisees, (of course disciples would be with Jesus and listening), but now Jesus' teaching is aimed squarely at the disciples. The instructions that Jesus gives them revolve around how to be the revolutionary community of God. Jesus first challenges them by warning them not to cause a little one to stumble. A couple of key questions to ask are: Who are the little ones? What does it mean to cause to stumble? I think based on the context that 'little ones' has to do with social standing rather than stature. Now children were certainly low in social standing, so they would have been included in the little ones, but other 'little ones' would have been the people who were pressing to get to Jesus. Among them we would include women, who had very little social standing, and 'sinners,' those who were on the outside of the religious establishment looking in. These would have all been little ones. In this context, causing them to stumble would have had to do with keeping them from Jesus. It would have been seeking to prevent them from attending the Kingdom party that Jesus was throwing. This is what the Pharisees were doing. They grumbled when the woman crashed the party at the Pharisees house. They grumbled when they saw all the tax collectors and sinners eating with Jesus. They were scandalized when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. (Wanting their interpretation of the Sabbath upheld rather than seeing someone made whole – which would enable the healed person to fully participate in the community would certainly count as causing to stumble). Jesus in effect here is saying what he said early, 'don't be like the Pharisees.' We are working to become a place that does not trip anybody near or far who is journeying towards Jesus. This is why we frequently say 'No perfect people allowed.' We don't want to trip each other up by thinking that we need to get our lives together before we can step towards Jesus, because it is actually stepping towards Jesus that will enable us to really live. We are looking to remove barriers between us and Jesus and barriers that we might construct that would trip each other as we move towards Jesus. We sometimes use the mathematical terms 'centered and bounded set' to help us think through how we wish to be in the world. Here is a link to Vineyard Pastor Dave Smelzer explaining bounded and centered-sets. Personally I find this to be a very helpful New Testament way to think, and very much in line with what Jesus is saying to his disciples here. May we be the people who help - rather than trip - each other on our journeys towards Jesus! On Sunday August 12 we continued our series in Luke as we dove into the first section of Luke 17. In this section Jesus is addressing his disciples, that is those people who are following him and learning what it means to be truly human. In the past few chapters the conversation has bounced from the crowd to the disciples to the Pharisees and back in different combinations. Chapter 16 concludes with a teaching directed at the Pharisees, (of course disciples would be with Jesus and listening), but now Jesus' teaching is aimed squarely at the disciples. The instructions that Jesus gives them revolve around how to be the revolutionary community of God. Jesus first challenges them by warning them not to cause a little one to stumble. A couple of key questions to ask are: Who are the little ones? What does it mean to cause to stumble? I think based on the context that 'little ones' has to do with social standing rather than stature. Now children were certainly low in social standing, so they would have been included in the little ones, but other 'little ones' would have been the people who were pressing to get to Jesus. Among them we would include women, who had very little social standing, and 'sinners,' those who were on the outside of the religious establishment looking in. These would have all been little ones. In this context, causing them to stumble would have had to do with keeping them from Jesus. It would have been seeking to prevent them from attending the Kingdom party that Jesus was throwing. This is what the Pharisees were doing. They grumbled when the woman crashed the party at the Pharisees house. They grumbled when they saw all the tax collectors and sinners eating with Jesus. They were scandalized when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. (Wanting their interpretation of the Sabbath upheld rather than seeing someone made whole – which would enable the healed person to fully participate in the community would certainly count as causing to stumble). Jesus in effect here is saying what he said early, 'don't be like the Pharisees.' We are working to become a place that does not trip anybody near or far who is journeying towards Jesus. This is why we frequently say 'No perfect people allowed.' We don't want to trip each other up by thinking that we need to get our lives together before we can step towards Jesus, because it is actually stepping towards Jesus that will enable us to really live. We are looking to remove barriers between us and Jesus and barriers that we might construct that would trip each other as we move towards Jesus. We sometimes use the mathematical terms 'centered and bounded set' to help us think through how we wish to be in the world. Here is a link to Vineyard Pastor Dave Smelzer explaining bounded and centered-sets. Personally I find this to be a very helpful New Testament way to think, and very much in line with what Jesus is saying to his disciples here. May we be the people who help - rather than trip - each other on our journeys towards Jesus! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36338 36338 Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:24:00 +0000 Jesus welcomed and ate with all sorts of people. When the religious leaders saw this they grumbled about the type of people that he was eating with and welcoming. Jesus responded with three stories. First, he tells a story about a shepherd who has 100 sheep, and discovers that one is missing. When the shepherd discovers that the one sheep is missing he sets off looking for the lost sheep. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep he carries it home and then calls friends and neighbors to rejoice with him. Jesus says the same thing happens whenever one of God's children turns towards home. Second, he tells a story about a woman who has ten coins but looses one. She like the shepherd begins a search for the missing coin. When she finds the coin she also calls friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she had found the coin. Jesus again says the same thing is happening in the presence of God. There is rejoicing whenever one of his children turns toward him. The finally he tells what is perhaps the greatest story in all world literature. A story about a man with two sons. On Sunday we only looked at the younger son and the Father so we should begin by noting that we didn't even get to half of the story. The second half is definitely worth pondering. When you have a few minutes just sit with the second half of the story. In the first half the younger son asks that his inheritance be given to him right then. In essence he is saying I can't wait for you to die, dad – in fact I wish you were dead right now. This is shocking behavior by the son. But, what would have been even more shocking in a middle eastern culture is the behavior of the Father in granting the request. Listeners would have felt that the father should have immediately disowned the son and given him nothing. Instead the Father grants the request and the son sets off for a far country. This passage beautifully captures flight from God. Flight from God leads to a far country. In the far country the son attaches himself to a pig farmer, but this attachment only leaves him more empty and longing to fill his belly with the pods that the pigs have already picked through. This is a haunting picture of life as we flee the Father's House. It is a haunting picture of our tendency towards addiction, where we attach our souls to the created, rather than the Creator. Here we find ourselves still hungry now matter how much we consume. In this midst of this the text says that the son came to himself. This wording is significant. What we find when we actually turn to God is that we become more ourselves. We set out in flight from God to find ourselves, but in the flight we discover that we actually lose ourselves. The moment of turning towards God we again actually become who we were made to be. The son sets off for home. When he is a long ways off the Father runs to him and embraces him. This is breathtaking and scandalous behavior. The son should not have been welcomed! And at the least the Father should have waited to see if the son was truly sorry. But he doesn't behave properly and respectively. He runs to his son, and commands his servants to throw a party. This is a living parable. Jesus is telling his first hearers - this is what is actually happening right now. All these people that you are grumbling about, the ones who are flocking to me and eating with me, they have been living in a far country and now they are coming home, and all of Heaven is rejoicing. May we be the people who return home ourselves, and reflect the heart of Jesus and the Father! Jesus welcomed and ate with all sorts of people. When the religious leaders saw this they grumbled about the type of people that he was eating with and welcoming. Jesus responded with three stories. First, he tells a story about a shepherd who has 100 sheep, and discovers that one is missing. When the shepherd discovers that the one sheep is missing he sets off looking for the lost sheep. When the shepherd finds the lost sheep he carries it home and then calls friends and neighbors to rejoice with him. Jesus says the same thing happens whenever one of God's children turns towards home. Second, he tells a story about a woman who has ten coins but looses one. She like the shepherd begins a search for the missing coin. When she finds the coin she also calls friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she had found the coin. Jesus again says the same thing is happening in the presence of God. There is rejoicing whenever one of his children turns toward him. The finally he tells what is perhaps the greatest story in all world literature. A story about a man with two sons. On Sunday we only looked at the younger son and the Father so we should begin by noting that we didn't even get to half of the story. The second half is definitely worth pondering. When you have a few minutes just sit with the second half of the story. In the first half the younger son asks that his inheritance be given to him right then. In essence he is saying I can't wait for you to die, dad – in fact I wish you were dead right now. This is shocking behavior by the son. But, what would have been even more shocking in a middle eastern culture is the behavior of the Father in granting the request. Listeners would have felt that the father should have immediately disowned the son and given him nothing. Instead the Father grants the request and the son sets off for a far country. This passage beautifully captures flight from God. Flight from God leads to a far country. In the far country the son attaches himself to a pig farmer, but this attachment only leaves him more empty and longing to fill his belly with the pods that the pigs have already picked through. This is a haunting picture of life as we flee the Father's House. It is a haunting picture of our tendency towards addiction, where we attach our souls to the created, rather than the Creator. Here we find ourselves still hungry now matter how much we consume. In this midst of this the text says that the son came to himself. This wording is significant. What we find when we actually turn to God is that we become more ourselves. We set out in flight from God to find ourselves, but in the flight we discover that we actually lose ourselves. The moment of turning towards God we again actually become who we were made to be. The son sets off for home. When he is a long ways off the Father runs to him and embraces him. This is breathtaking and scandalous behavior. The son should not have been welcomed! And at the least the Father should have waited to see if the son was truly sorry. But he doesn't behave properly and respectively. He runs to his son, and commands his servants to throw a party. This is a living parable. Jesus is telling his first hearers - this is what is actually happening right now. All these people that you are grumbling about, the ones who are flocking to me and eating with me, they have been living in a far country and now they are coming home, and all of Heaven is rejoicing. May we be the people who return home ourselves, and reflect the heart of Jesus and the Father! http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=36070 36070 Wed, 1 Aug 2012 10:51:00 +0000 As we journey with Jesus through Luke, we experience many travel narratives and many shared meals. In Luke 14 - which we looked at Sunday, July 22 - we again find Jesus at the house of Pharisee sharing a meal. This meal happens to be on a Sabbath. This means that the host, the Pharisee would have had the meal prepared on the day before (the day of preparation), so that the work of making the meal would not have to be done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees carefully watch Jesus at this meal, watching for him to slip up, to violate the law. Jesus heals a man. This is the fifth time in Luke that Jesus has healed on the Sabbath. Each time it offends the Pharisees. But, this time before he heals the man Jesus baits them with a question about lawfulness, and then after healing the man tells them that they would all be more than willing to get their ox out of a ditch, on a Sabbath, thus revealing their hearts. Then as the meal progresses Jesus first addresses the behavior of the guests who have been jockeying for places of honor. Jesus tells them this is a bad strategy for getting honor, because they might actually end up being embarrassed by having to give up their seat. Then he turns to the host and essentially tells him that he has invited all the wrong people. The people he has invited will all invite him over in return and that will be the reward. He tells him instead to invite those at the margins, the poor, the blind, the lame … (a very similar list to the people Jesus had on his mind in his first public talk at the Synagogue in Nazareth in chapter 4). Jesus told the host that they would not be able to reciprocate, but instead the host would be 'repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.' Hearing about the resurrection of the righteous prompts another guest to jump in the conversation and talk about the blessing of 'eating bread in the kingdom of God.' Jesus replies with a story about a great banquet. As I mentioned Sunday this parable, this story that Jesus is telling is actually being fulfilled right there. Though the man says he would love to participate in the kingdom banquet, potentially he and many of the other guests and the host are actually refusing the invitation. It is a kingdom banquet because the King is there. And they are resisting what the king is doing – inviting those on the margins of society: poor; blind; lame etc. The one throwing the banquet thinks he is sending out a really good invitation. He thinks that this is a banquet worth attending. Jesus thinks that the invitation to join him in his kingdom work is a really good kingdom invitation. The invited guests in the parable all make excuses. We can see that they are bad excuses. They bought a field without looking at it? They bought the oxen without testing them out? Jesus is essentially saying that the reasons that the Pharisees and teachers of the law have for not joining in his Kingdom party are silly. It's the silliness of not be able to see that Sabbath was made for humanity and that healing on a Sabbath upholds the heart of Sabbath. There petty refusal to see is a refusal to join the kingdom party. Their silly refusal to welcome the marginalized and 'the sinners' (we'll see this particularly in chapter 15), is a refusal of a Kingdom invitation. After the banquet a great crowd surrounds Jesus. He informs them that there is a cost to following him and he urges them to count the cost. I am convinced that he thought that someone who actually counted the costs, the immense life-giving benefits of the life that comes from following Jesus would follow him. They would not think that the cost was too great. They would think that it was a bargain. To borrow from a parable he tells in Matthew they would view it like finding treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. I'm convinced that Jesus thought the cost was completely worth it. I can't always see it that way. If Jesus actually through his Holy Spirit asked me to sell all my possessions so that I could follow him, so that I could join in the Kingdom movement right here and now. I'm not sure I could hear that as a bargain. And that is precisely how Jesus concludes these sayings with a challenge to me and people like me, 'If you have ears than hear!' Hear that the Kingdom is the greatest bargain I will ever come across. May we be the people that can hear the Kingdom invitation as the greatest bargain ever. As we journey with Jesus through Luke, we experience many travel narratives and many shared meals. In Luke 14 - which we looked at Sunday, July 22 - we again find Jesus at the house of Pharisee sharing a meal. This meal happens to be on a Sabbath. This means that the host, the Pharisee would have had the meal prepared on the day before (the day of preparation), so that the work of making the meal would not have to be done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees carefully watch Jesus at this meal, watching for him to slip up, to violate the law. Jesus heals a man. This is the fifth time in Luke that Jesus has healed on the Sabbath. Each time it offends the Pharisees. But, this time before he heals the man Jesus baits them with a question about lawfulness, and then after healing the man tells them that they would all be more than willing to get their ox out of a ditch, on a Sabbath, thus revealing their hearts. Then as the meal progresses Jesus first addresses the behavior of the guests who have been jockeying for places of honor. Jesus tells them this is a bad strategy for getting honor, because they might actually end up being embarrassed by having to give up their seat. Then he turns to the host and essentially tells him that he has invited all the wrong people. The people he has invited will all invite him over in return and that will be the reward. He tells him instead to invite those at the margins, the poor, the blind, the lame … (a very similar list to the people Jesus had on his mind in his first public talk at the Synagogue in Nazareth in chapter 4). Jesus told the host that they would not be able to reciprocate, but instead the host would be 'repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.' Hearing about the resurrection of the righteous prompts another guest to jump in the conversation and talk about the blessing of 'eating bread in the kingdom of God.' Jesus replies with a story about a great banquet. As I mentioned Sunday this parable, this story that Jesus is telling is actually being fulfilled right there. Though the man says he would love to participate in the kingdom banquet, potentially he and many of the other guests and the host are actually refusing the invitation. It is a kingdom banquet because the King is there. And they are resisting what the king is doing – inviting those on the margins of society: poor; blind; lame etc. The one throwing the banquet thinks he is sending out a really good invitation. He thinks that this is a banquet worth attending. Jesus thinks that the invitation to join him in his kingdom work is a really good kingdom invitation. The invited guests in the parable all make excuses. We can see that they are bad excuses. They bought a field without looking at it? They bought the oxen without testing them out? Jesus is essentially saying that the reasons that the Pharisees and teachers of the law have for not joining in his Kingdom party are silly. It's the silliness of not be able to see that Sabbath was made for humanity and that healing on a Sabbath upholds the heart of Sabbath. There petty refusal to see is a refusal to join the kingdom party. Their silly refusal to welcome the marginalized and 'the sinners' (we'll see this particularly in chapter 15), is a refusal of a Kingdom invitation. After the banquet a great crowd surrounds Jesus. He informs them that there is a cost to following him and he urges them to count the cost. I am convinced that he thought that someone who actually counted the costs, the immense life-giving benefits of the life that comes from following Jesus would follow him. They would not think that the cost was too great. They would think that it was a bargain. To borrow from a parable he tells in Matthew they would view it like finding treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. I'm convinced that Jesus thought the cost was completely worth it. I can't always see it that way. If Jesus actually through his Holy Spirit asked me to sell all my possessions so that I could follow him, so that I could join in the Kingdom movement right here and now. I'm not sure I could hear that as a bargain. And that is precisely how Jesus concludes these sayings with a challenge to me and people like me, 'If you have ears than hear!' Hear that the Kingdom is the greatest bargain I will ever come across. May we be the people that can hear the Kingdom invitation as the greatest bargain ever. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=35944 35944 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:57:00 +0000 Far a part of the time that Kristine, Rachel and Emma were in Costa Rica, Ava stayed at her cousin's, and David stayed at his grandma's, and I journeyed into the wilderness and solitude. This journey began fourteen years ago, when I was given Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. The opening lines gripped me, and launched me on this journey: The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people…the classical disciplines (what I have been calling training) of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths…We must not be led to believe that the disciplines are for spiritual giants…Far from it. God intends …the spiritual life for ordinary human beings: people who have jobs, who care for children, who must wash dishes and mow lawns. In fact the disciplines (again what I would call training)are best exercised in the midst of our normal daily activities. If they are to have any transforming effect, the effect must be found in the junctures of human life: in our relationships with our husband or wife, our brothers and sisters, our friends and neighbors. These words captured me and I devoured the book – perhaps not the best way to read a book that at least is partly saying s l o w down and be present to God in the moment. And just to be clear, at the risk of repeating myself and things I have said before, any discipline/training (such as Bible study or fasting or corporate celebration or giving etc.), will in no way make God love you more. (This would give you control over the primary attribute of God which is love, and if you can weaken or increase God's love for you well then I guess that would make you or I God – and to put it plainly we are not). Training is not 'works righteousness.' You are already completely loved, and you will not be loved less if you do not engage in training. You are loved. Training opens us to the loving movement of the Holy Spirit in our life. The Spirit who cries out Abba Father. Training helps us be aware of the amazing love of God that surpassed knowledge. One chapter of the book, which I found particularly alluring was the chapter on solitude, but this was the one that felt the most out of reach for me, who as Foster described had a job, needed to wash dishes, at that time change diapers (I know, I know Kristine did the majority, but I did change quite a few), mow a lawn etc. But as I have read through the gospels quite a few times since in the past fourteen years, and after our study on Luke is complete will have taught through each of the gospels, I have over and over again noticed Jesus' practice of withdrawal to solitude (lonely places) to be alone with the Father. In fact before he begins his public ministry he was alone with the Father for forty days. I heard Dallas Willard say that it was a turning point in his journey, when he realized that if Jesus needed forty days, he could probably use a day here or there, and I thought that has to be true. So for fourteen years I had a longing for an extended period of solitude (and incidentally it is not because I am an introvert – if I am given a personality test I will invariably score high in extroversion – and sometimes it is us extraverts who will most benefit from solitude). Over the years, I have been able here and there to get away to 'a lonely place' for 6-8 hours at a time, but never more than that. So with my family in many different places, and with vacation time to use, it seemed like the ideal time to get away to the wilderness to be with God. I went just south of here somewhere outside of Three Rivers, Michigan to a place called the Hermitage, that was founded over twenty-five years ago by a group of Mennonites. Here I had four days of solitude interrupted only by a half hour corporate liturgy and one hour sessions with the retreat keeper to discuss what was going on in my soul as I was alone with God. In solitude it was just the Father and me. One of the fears that I had entering solitude (and it is not an uncommon fear when entering a period of solitude) was: 'Will just being with God be enough?' Here is how the question was formed for me for my periods for prayer and meditation: Is Jesus enough? Is how the Father sees me enough? Is the Holy Spirit with me enough? I entered the solitude right after giving what felt like a challenging invitation (at least to me) for people I really love to leave their shoes at the communion table. I left after the talk and went towards solitude wondering what people thought, wondering who I offended …etc., and against this internal turmoil in the midst of solitude this was the question: Is Jesus enough? The other fear to be faced (and again this is not uncommon) is: What will I do?' And the best answer is probably n o t h i n g. I guess practically speaking there is 'doing.' I did read the Bible, I did spend large chunks of time praying, but in terms of what I would normally think of as 'doing,' - cooking, talking, cleaning, working, surfing the web, watching sports, playing… I did nothing. There was no 'product' at the end of the day. Nothing to show that I had been productive. Nothing to show I was here. This made me squarely face the question before the Father, 'am I loved because of what I do? Or am I actually loved simply because I am your son?' We undoubtedly live in a world where we are mainly 'loved' or admired or liked for what we 'do.' But, the astounding testimony of the Bible is that we are loved simply because we are God's child. Now, we will have had this experience once from humans, if we were born into a family of relative health. As infants we did nothing, except things that are actually somewhat annoying: we cried and we dirtied our diapers, but in this time when we did nothing but these things, we were loved. (Of course one of the immense tragedies of our world is that far too much of humanity will not even have had this experience). But, as we grow, even in the healthiest of families, the world will slowly but surely communicate that we are 'loved' or valued because of what we 'do.' This is the question that is put to the test in the wilderness. 'Am I actually loved by the Father right now as I am when I do nothing?' These days in the wilderness, (and a part of the time was literally spent in the wildest place I have ever been), were some the most intense days of my life. I went in expecting them to be basically four days of uninterrupted peace. And I am convinced that peace (as I talked about a while back as in Shalom) will be one of the lasting fruits of this time. However, I would not describe the actual days as times of peace (and here maybe more just in the sense we sometimes think as quietness or rest). There were many moments of real contentment and rest, but overall there was more wrestling with the fears and questions I brought with me. And in the wilderness I truly discovered the truth of this saying: Wherever you go there you are. And again I defy someone to refute the truth of this statement. Here is what I experienced in the wilderness. One, God is extremely good company. Time with God is fantastic. But I also brought me, and I discovered that I am not always good company. I am not always kind to myself. But I brought away a determination to stop participating with the accuser or the brethren by acusing myself. I desire true humility. Not that I want to think less of myself, I don't want to beat myself up, I just want to think of myself less. I desire my thoughts to be towards the One who loves me and gave himself for me. And I want my thoughts to be for the people whom God loves that I share life with. Two, Jesus is absolutely enough. Whether I will always remember this, I had an intense experience of Jesus being absolutely and completely more than enough. There is no one like Jesus. This is something perhaps, we 'know.' This is something that I have 'known,' but it is another to experience. Three, I am completely loved by the Father apart from my doing. I am loved because I am His child, and he is particularly found of me. I pray that I will ever remember and carry these experiences with me. I pray that I may be a small part of helping others discover in community the God perfectly revealed in the Face of Jesus who is absolutely more than enough, and the love of the Father for his children - simply because they are his children. Far a part of the time that Kristine, Rachel and Emma were in Costa Rica, Ava stayed at her cousin's, and David stayed at his grandma's, and I journeyed into the wilderness and solitude. This journey began fourteen years ago, when I was given Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. The opening lines gripped me, and launched me on this journey: The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people…the classical disciplines (what I have been calling training) of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths…We must not be led to believe that the disciplines are for spiritual giants…Far from it. God intends …the spiritual life for ordinary human beings: people who have jobs, who care for children, who must wash dishes and mow lawns. In fact the disciplines (again what I would call training)are best exercised in the midst of our normal daily activities. If they are to have any transforming effect, the effect must be found in the junctures of human life: in our relationships with our husband or wife, our brothers and sisters, our friends and neighbors. These words captured me and I devoured the book – perhaps not the best way to read a book that at least is partly saying s l o w down and be present to God in the moment. And just to be clear, at the risk of repeating myself and things I have said before, any discipline/training (such as Bible study or fasting or corporate celebration or giving etc.), will in no way make God love you more. (This would give you control over the primary attribute of God which is love, and if you can weaken or increase God's love for you well then I guess that would make you or I God – and to put it plainly we are not). Training is not 'works righteousness.' You are already completely loved, and you will not be loved less if you do not engage in training. You are loved. Training opens us to the loving movement of the Holy Spirit in our life. The Spirit who cries out Abba Father. Training helps us be aware of the amazing love of God that surpassed knowledge. One chapter of the book, which I found particularly alluring was the chapter on solitude, but this was the one that felt the most out of reach for me, who as Foster described had a job, needed to wash dishes, at that time change diapers (I know, I know Kristine did the majority, but I did change quite a few), mow a lawn etc. But as I have read through the gospels quite a few times since in the past fourteen years, and after our study on Luke is complete will have taught through each of the gospels, I have over and over again noticed Jesus' practice of withdrawal to solitude (lonely places) to be alone with the Father. In fact before he begins his public ministry he was alone with the Father for forty days. I heard Dallas Willard say that it was a turning point in his journey, when he realized that if Jesus needed forty days, he could probably use a day here or there, and I thought that has to be true. So for fourteen years I had a longing for an extended period of solitude (and incidentally it is not because I am an introvert – if I am given a personality test I will invariably score high in extroversion – and sometimes it is us extraverts who will most benefit from solitude). Over the years, I have been able here and there to get away to 'a lonely place' for 6-8 hours at a time, but never more than that. So with my family in many different places, and with vacation time to use, it seemed like the ideal time to get away to the wilderness to be with God. I went just south of here somewhere outside of Three Rivers, Michigan to a place called the Hermitage, that was founded over twenty-five years ago by a group of Mennonites. Here I had four days of solitude interrupted only by a half hour corporate liturgy and one hour sessions with the retreat keeper to discuss what was going on in my soul as I was alone with God. In solitude it was just the Father and me. One of the fears that I had entering solitude (and it is not an uncommon fear when entering a period of solitude) was: 'Will just being with God be enough?' Here is how the question was formed for me for my periods for prayer and meditation: Is Jesus enough? Is how the Father sees me enough? Is the Holy Spirit with me enough? I entered the solitude right after giving what felt like a challenging invitation (at least to me) for people I really love to leave their shoes at the communion table. I left after the talk and went towards solitude wondering what people thought, wondering who I offended …etc., and against this internal turmoil in the midst of solitude this was the question: Is Jesus enough? The other fear to be faced (and again this is not uncommon) is: What will I do?' And the best answer is probably n o t h i n g. I guess practically speaking there is 'doing.' I did read the Bible, I did spend large chunks of time praying, but in terms of what I would normally think of as 'doing,' - cooking, talking, cleaning, working, surfing the web, watching sports, playing… I did nothing. There was no 'product' at the end of the day. Nothing to show that I had been productive. Nothing to show I was here. This made me squarely face the question before the Father, 'am I loved because of what I do? Or am I actually loved simply because I am your son?' We undoubtedly live in a world where we are mainly 'loved' or admired or liked for what we 'do.' But, the astounding testimony of the Bible is that we are loved simply because we are God's child. Now, we will have had this experience once from humans, if we were born into a family of relative health. As infants we did nothing, except things that are actually somewhat annoying: we cried and we dirtied our diapers, but in this time when we did nothing but these things, we were loved. (Of course one of the immense tragedies of our world is that far too much of humanity will not even have had this experience). But, as we grow, even in the healthiest of families, the world will slowly but surely communicate that we are 'loved' or valued because of what we 'do.' This is the question that is put to the test in the wilderness. 'Am I actually loved by the Father right now as I am when I do nothing?' These days in the wilderness, (and a part of the time was literally spent in the wildest place I have ever been), were some the most intense days of my life. I went in expecting them to be basically four days of uninterrupted peace. And I am convinced that peace (as I talked about a while back as in Shalom) will be one of the lasting fruits of this time. However, I would not describe the actual days as times of peace (and here maybe more just in the sense we sometimes think as quietness or rest). There were many moments of real contentment and rest, but overall there was more wrestling with the fears and questions I brought with me. And in the wilderness I truly discovered the truth of this saying: Wherever you go there you are. And again I defy someone to refute the truth of this statement. Here is what I experienced in the wilderness. One, God is extremely good company. Time with God is fantastic. But I also brought me, and I discovered that I am not always good company. I am not always kind to myself. But I brought away a determination to stop participating with the accuser or the brethren by acusing myself. I desire true humility. Not that I want to think less of myself, I don't want to beat myself up, I just want to think of myself less. I desire my thoughts to be towards the One who loves me and gave himself for me. And I want my thoughts to be for the people whom God loves that I share life with. Two, Jesus is absolutely enough. Whether I will always remember this, I had an intense experience of Jesus being absolutely and completely more than enough. There is no one like Jesus. This is something perhaps, we 'know.' This is something that I have 'known,' but it is another to experience. Three, I am completely loved by the Father apart from my doing. I am loved because I am His child, and he is particularly found of me. I pray that I will ever remember and carry these experiences with me. I pray that I may be a small part of helping others discover in community the God perfectly revealed in the Face of Jesus who is absolutely more than enough, and the love of the Father for his children - simply because they are his children. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=35937 35937 Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:06:00 +0000 Jesus sent 72 of his first followers ahead of him into all the towns where he was about to go. As they went the first thing they were to proclaim to a household was 'peace.' Then he said if a person of peace was there the disciples peace would rest on them. Sunday we zeroed in on this particular instruction. First, we noted that to proclaim peace we need to have peace. The theme of peace runs through Luke. Zechariah prophecies about learning to walk the paths of peace. The angels as they announce the birth of Jesus declare 'peace on earth.' Jesus sends the woman who is a sinner on her way with the blessing 'your faith has saved you go in peace.' And he gives the same blessing to the woman who pressed through the crowd to touch his garment and as she did she was immediately healed. To her he also said, 'Your faith has saved you go in peace.' It is important to remember that when we think of Faith we should think of trust. Having peace is linked to a deep trust that Jesus is good, and that there is no life like life with Jesus. As we trust we experience the peace. When Jesus spoke of peace he was speaking from the Jewish perspective of Shalom. Shalom is the word that we translate peace. Shalom is this wonderful word that means human flourishing. In our language peace is a little less robust, and our tendency might be to think in terms of the absence of war, fighting or anxiety. In general we would associate peace with quiet, and it certainly can be this. But it is also more. Biblically speaking Shalom, does begin with an absence of war. (I know of no one who makes the case that humans flourish best in war and fighting). Shalom is also the absence of anxiety, but it is still more. Shalom is human flourishing. Shalom is life and life and life to the full. It is life as God intended it for each one of us. This is the Shalom Jesus desires for his followers and also sends them to proclaim. It is significant that Jesus says the first message is 'Peace.' God's desire and heart is for human flourishing. Truly this is a breathtakingly beautiful message. The Creator of all things desire is that we would flourish. This is good news. This is good news worth sharing. May we be the people who have and proclaim peace. Jesus sent 72 of his first followers ahead of him into all the towns where he was about to go. As they went the first thing they were to proclaim to a household was 'peace.' Then he said if a person of peace was there the disciples peace would rest on them. Sunday we zeroed in on this particular instruction. First, we noted that to proclaim peace we need to have peace. The theme of peace runs through Luke. Zechariah prophecies about learning to walk the paths of peace. The angels as they announce the birth of Jesus declare 'peace on earth.' Jesus sends the woman who is a sinner on her way with the blessing 'your faith has saved you go in peace.' And he gives the same blessing to the woman who pressed through the crowd to touch his garment and as she did she was immediately healed. To her he also said, 'Your faith has saved you go in peace.' It is important to remember that when we think of Faith we should think of trust. Having peace is linked to a deep trust that Jesus is good, and that there is no life like life with Jesus. As we trust we experience the peace. When Jesus spoke of peace he was speaking from the Jewish perspective of Shalom. Shalom is the word that we translate peace. Shalom is this wonderful word that means human flourishing. In our language peace is a little less robust, and our tendency might be to think in terms of the absence of war, fighting or anxiety. In general we would associate peace with quiet, and it certainly can be this. But it is also more. Biblically speaking Shalom, does begin with an absence of war. (I know of no one who makes the case that humans flourish best in war and fighting). Shalom is also the absence of anxiety, but it is still more. Shalom is human flourishing. Shalom is life and life and life to the full. It is life as God intended it for each one of us. This is the Shalom Jesus desires for his followers and also sends them to proclaim. It is significant that Jesus says the first message is 'Peace.' God's desire and heart is for human flourishing. Truly this is a breathtakingly beautiful message. The Creator of all things desire is that we would flourish. This is good news. This is good news worth sharing. May we be the people who have and proclaim peace. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=35284 35284 Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:29:00 +0000 Throughout Leap of Faith we encourage each other to pray for a big Leap of Faith dream. The risky/scary part of this is: What if the dreams don't come true? In this year's guide we said: Leap of Faith can be a little scary. Here's the thing about exercising faith. By definition, there are no guarantees, which is why it requires faith. The risk you take by engaging with something like this is disappointment. You'll be invited to really engage in faith for some things you actually care about, both for yourself, for people around you, and for… well, I guess the world. But, again, there are no guarantees with this sort of faith (except, as we'll talk about in a minute, that God will be with you every step of the way—I do think that's guaranteed). So what do you think? Is that a risk you're willing to run? In our 101 party we say this about pursuing dreams: Will we really get all these things we dream of? No but that's OK. We find that in pursuing these dreams we are actually pursuing God. In 201: We learn to trust Jesus in all circumstances. We learn that he is good always (notice we are not saying that all circumstances are good), and that he will work all things for our good (not that all things are good). In all these things Jesus is with us. These are some of the things we are learning and practicing together … So here is some real time discipleship regarding dreams and disappointments. Debt forgiveness My big Leap of Faith dream was that Rush Creek would forgive our debt, and starting this year we could begin spending the 3800 we spend on our mortgage on mission. I delivered our letter during Leap of Faith, and then received the reply in May. In short there was gracious offer to drop our debt to 4% and hold our note until it is completely paid instead of having a ballon payment due in 2015. A good offer (especially since they could have said a flat out no), but obviously not the dream I was asking for (and I know many of you were as well). So let's first be real on the front end and say there is genuine disappointment here. Now there is also much good that has come from this. We are in a significantly better position than we were before: We found out that we will actually be out of debt (if we pay at our current rate) in 2019, not 2030 as I had been thinking (by my math that is around ten years sooner or 120 months –not an insignificant amount of time). We know exactly what we now owe, and both us and Rush Creek are working from the same Amoritization schedule. We won't have a balloon payment due in 2015, so we don't have to worry about the time or financial costs of setting up new financing. With the reduction in our interest rate to 4% we will save 30,000 over the life of the loan (not an insignificant amount!). I had the experience of making a really big request. It was scary and felt risky to go with the letter and talk to Pastor Gary. That meeting could not have gone better. He was completely gracious and we had a good time talking together. This was great training for me. Through the process I actually felt the dream of being debt free work deeper into my bones, and am more convinced that this is a dream from God and definitely worth pursuing. So good things, but there is still the disappointment, but honestly more than the disappointment I am taking away the experience of Jesus' being with me as he stretched and trained me, and am certain Jesus will use this experience when the time comes for the next big ask. J15 not this Summer Mark Leyen's Leap of Faith dream was J15. J15 is a discipleship internship for 18-25 year olds to go deep in spiritual formation in reaching up to God; going deep in reaching out to the world through sports camps, helping lead SOS and going to Costa Rica among other things; and reaching in through pursuing personal healing; learning to help heal others; and learning to share life as Jesus' community. J15 is a good dream. These are things on Jesus' heart and Jesus' desire is to capture the hearts of this age group, who most sociologists would say are leaving the church in droves. J15 is inline with Jesus commission to us to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples….. Again in short J15 is a good dream. I prayed frequently for the dream with Mark. I wanted to see this dream happen this summer. We had set a minimum goal of six interns for running J15 and dreamed and prayed for 12. By the start deadline we were at three. We thought about running a modified J15 with three, and set up a few markers that would be confirming signs to proceed, and then ultimately had to say not this year. This was and is a disappointment to us. Still here is some of the good I see from this experience: It confirmed a burning desire to make disciples who make disciples…. We learned quite a few valuable lessons about timing and setting up structures for discipleship training that is as intensive as J15 is. We learned about our true need to team in endeavors like J15. Maybe just a restatement of 1, but it bears repeating the commission to make disciples is not going away and we will follow this commission as Jesus leads Deepened a passion for having structures (wineskins) for people who are in the 'gap years.' So we're disappointed, but we are learning. One of the really good things we are learning is that failure isn't fatal - and I know that this is a cliché , but it is true - failure is an opportunity to fall forward. And best of all we are experiencing in the midst of disappointment that Jesus is good, and Jesus is for us and Jesus is with us. In short there is no one like Jesus and nothing like life with him. Throughout Leap of Faith we encourage each other to pray for a big Leap of Faith dream. The risky/scary part of this is: What if the dreams don't come true? In this year's guide we said: Leap of Faith can be a little scary. Here's the thing about exercising faith. By definition, there are no guarantees, which is why it requires faith. The risk you take by engaging with something like this is disappointment. You'll be invited to really engage in faith for some things you actually care about, both for yourself, for people around you, and for… well, I guess the world. But, again, there are no guarantees with this sort of faith (except, as we'll talk about in a minute, that God will be with you every step of the way—I do think that's guaranteed). So what do you think? Is that a risk you're willing to run? In our 101 party we say this about pursuing dreams: Will we really get all these things we dream of? No but that's OK. We find that in pursuing these dreams we are actually pursuing God. In 201: We learn to trust Jesus in all circumstances. We learn that he is good always (notice we are not saying that all circumstances are good), and that he will work all things for our good (not that all things are good). In all these things Jesus is with us. These are some of the things we are learning and practicing together … So here is some real time discipleship regarding dreams and disappointments. Debt forgiveness My big Leap of Faith dream was that Rush Creek would forgive our debt, and starting this year we could begin spending the 3800 we spend on our mortgage on mission. I delivered our letter during Leap of Faith, and then received the reply in May. In short there was gracious offer to drop our debt to 4% and hold our note until it is completely paid instead of having a ballon payment due in 2015. A good offer (especially since they could have said a flat out no), but obviously not the dream I was asking for (and I know many of you were as well). So let's first be real on the front end and say there is genuine disappointment here. Now there is also much good that has come from this. We are in a significantly better position than we were before: We found out that we will actually be out of debt (if we pay at our current rate) in 2019, not 2030 as I had been thinking (by my math that is around ten years sooner or 120 months –not an insignificant amount of time). We know exactly what we now owe, and both us and Rush Creek are working from the same Amoritization schedule. We won't have a balloon payment due in 2015, so we don't have to worry about the time or financial costs of setting up new financing. With the reduction in our interest rate to 4% we will save 30,000 over the life of the loan (not an insignificant amount!). I had the experience of making a really big request. It was scary and felt risky to go with the letter and talk to Pastor Gary. That meeting could not have gone better. He was completely gracious and we had a good time talking together. This was great training for me. Through the process I actually felt the dream of being debt free work deeper into my bones, and am more convinced that this is a dream from God and definitely worth pursuing. So good things, but there is still the disappointment, but honestly more than the disappointment I am taking away the experience of Jesus' being with me as he stretched and trained me, and am certain Jesus will use this experience when the time comes for the next big ask. J15 not this Summer Mark Leyen's Leap of Faith dream was J15. J15 is a discipleship internship for 18-25 year olds to go deep in spiritual formation in reaching up to God; going deep in reaching out to the world through sports camps, helping lead SOS and going to Costa Rica among other things; and reaching in through pursuing personal healing; learning to help heal others; and learning to share life as Jesus' community. J15 is a good dream. These are things on Jesus' heart and Jesus' desire is to capture the hearts of this age group, who most sociologists would say are leaving the church in droves. J15 is inline with Jesus commission to us to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples….. Again in short J15 is a good dream. I prayed frequently for the dream with Mark. I wanted to see this dream happen this summer. We had set a minimum goal of six interns for running J15 and dreamed and prayed for 12. By the start deadline we were at three. We thought about running a modified J15 with three, and set up a few markers that would be confirming signs to proceed, and then ultimately had to say not this year. This was and is a disappointment to us. Still here is some of the good I see from this experience: It confirmed a burning desire to make disciples who make disciples…. We learned quite a few valuable lessons about timing and setting up structures for discipleship training that is as intensive as J15 is. We learned about our true need to team in endeavors like J15. Maybe just a restatement of 1, but it bears repeating the commission to make disciples is not going away and we will follow this commission as Jesus leads Deepened a passion for having structures (wineskins) for people who are in the 'gap years.' So we're disappointed, but we are learning. One of the really good things we are learning is that failure isn't fatal - and I know that this is a cliché , but it is true - failure is an opportunity to fall forward. And best of all we are experiencing in the midst of disappointment that Jesus is good, and Jesus is for us and Jesus is with us. In short there is no one like Jesus and nothing like life with him. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34803 34803 Wed, 6 Jun 2012 11:47:00 +0000 Jesus fascinates people, especially when they get a clear look at him. Some people will look at Jesus and be scandalized, others will look at Jesus and determine that whatever else might happens, they must get to Jesus. Jesus told John's disciples 'blessed is the one who is not scandalized by me.' (Scandalized is the actual word in the Greek, most of our English translations are something more tame like 'not offended') Jesus believes that people who get to him and are not scandalized by his offer of forgiveness will be blessed. He believes that people who connect with him will experience abundant life. This past Sunday, June 3, we looked at the end of Luke 7 and a scandalous dinner party, and a woman who thought that the most important thing was getting to Jesus. Simon, a Pharisee, threw a dinner party and invited Jesus. This woman, who Luke tells us was a sinner, crashed the party and causes a scene. She let down her hair and cried onto Jesus feet. She broke open a significantly expensive bottle of perfume and poured the perfume on Jesus' feet. She wiped Jesus' dirty dusty feet with her hair. She kissed Jesus' dirty dusty feet. Her behavior is scandalous. This is the type of behavior if captured on video would go viral today on youtube. Simon reacts to this spectacle by judging that Jesus could not possibly be a prophet, because if Jesus were a prophet, he reasons, he would not let this woman touch him. (In all likelihood this woman is ceremonially 'unclean,' and as she touches Jesus according to the law she is making him 'unclean'). Jesus discerns the judgment that Simon is making, and tells a story about a moneylender who lends two sums, one large and one small. The lender forgives both debts. Who Jesus asks Simon who will love more. Simon has the right answer – the one who was forgiven more, he says. (Incidentally this right information, right information, right answers might be good, but doesn't necessarily lead to transformation). Jesus then immediately applies the story to the situation at the party, and shows where transformation is happening. Jesus says that the woman loves much, and that her many sins are forgiven as her great love indicates. Jesus then speaks directly to the woman and tells her that her sins are forgiven and sends her in peace. According to very early tradition this woman was a prostitute. The text doesn't actually say that she is a prostitute, just that she is a sinner. Working with the early tradition, if she was a prostitute it took tremendous courage on her point to crash the party and get to Jesus. (It took tremendous courage either way) She was obviously not welcome. It's not hard to imagine the sneers on the faces of the men at the party, the sneers that would have been directed at both her and Jesus. The sneers would have been directed at her for her life, her way of living. The sneers would have been directed at Jesus for allowing her to touch him and not immediately chasing her off with scorn as an unclean woman. It took courage, but she saw getting to Jesus as completely worth it. So, why aren't desperate people in our day knocking down the doors of church buildings to get inside? Why don't prostitutes crash the gatherings that churches have every Sunday? My guess is that churches, (rightly or wrongly), are viewed more as being like Simon than being like Jesus.My prayer is that Churches in our city would be seen as being like Jesus. May we be a church that does participate in Jesus' revolution of love. May we extend Jesus' radical welcome to people as they are. May we all hear Jesus say to us personally, 'Your sins are forgiven go in Peace.' And may we be a people who have great love for Jesus. Jesus fascinates people, especially when they get a clear look at him. Some people will look at Jesus and be scandalized, others will look at Jesus and determine that whatever else might happens, they must get to Jesus. Jesus told John's disciples 'blessed is the one who is not scandalized by me.' (Scandalized is the actual word in the Greek, most of our English translations are something more tame like 'not offended') Jesus believes that people who get to him and are not scandalized by his offer of forgiveness will be blessed. He believes that people who connect with him will experience abundant life. This past Sunday, June 3, we looked at the end of Luke 7 and a scandalous dinner party, and a woman who thought that the most important thing was getting to Jesus. Simon, a Pharisee, threw a dinner party and invited Jesus. This woman, who Luke tells us was a sinner, crashed the party and causes a scene. She let down her hair and cried onto Jesus feet. She broke open a significantly expensive bottle of perfume and poured the perfume on Jesus' feet. She wiped Jesus' dirty dusty feet with her hair. She kissed Jesus' dirty dusty feet. Her behavior is scandalous. This is the type of behavior if captured on video would go viral today on youtube. Simon reacts to this spectacle by judging that Jesus could not possibly be a prophet, because if Jesus were a prophet, he reasons, he would not let this woman touch him. (In all likelihood this woman is ceremonially 'unclean,' and as she touches Jesus according to the law she is making him 'unclean'). Jesus discerns the judgment that Simon is making, and tells a story about a moneylender who lends two sums, one large and one small. The lender forgives both debts. Who Jesus asks Simon who will love more. Simon has the right answer – the one who was forgiven more, he says. (Incidentally this right information, right information, right answers might be good, but doesn't necessarily lead to transformation). Jesus then immediately applies the story to the situation at the party, and shows where transformation is happening. Jesus says that the woman loves much, and that her many sins are forgiven as her great love indicates. Jesus then speaks directly to the woman and tells her that her sins are forgiven and sends her in peace. According to very early tradition this woman was a prostitute. The text doesn't actually say that she is a prostitute, just that she is a sinner. Working with the early tradition, if she was a prostitute it took tremendous courage on her point to crash the party and get to Jesus. (It took tremendous courage either way) She was obviously not welcome. It's not hard to imagine the sneers on the faces of the men at the party, the sneers that would have been directed at both her and Jesus. The sneers would have been directed at her for her life, her way of living. The sneers would have been directed at Jesus for allowing her to touch him and not immediately chasing her off with scorn as an unclean woman. It took courage, but she saw getting to Jesus as completely worth it. So, why aren't desperate people in our day knocking down the doors of church buildings to get inside? Why don't prostitutes crash the gatherings that churches have every Sunday? My guess is that churches, (rightly or wrongly), are viewed more as being like Simon than being like Jesus.My prayer is that Churches in our city would be seen as being like Jesus. May we be a church that does participate in Jesus' revolution of love. May we extend Jesus' radical welcome to people as they are. May we all hear Jesus say to us personally, 'Your sins are forgiven go in Peace.' And may we be a people who have great love for Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34799 34799 Wed, 6 Jun 2012 09:20:00 +0000 Once Jesus was asked a question about fasting by the Pharisees, and he responded by saying that it was not the appropriate time for his followers to fast. Then to illustrate the point he told a parable about patching clothes and followed the parable about patching clothes with a parable about new and old wine and new and old wineskins. He concludes that parable by saying that no one wants new wine after they have had old wine because they will say that the old is better. People familiar with wine will say that this is true, old wine is better. The way the chapters are broken up in our Bibles may cause us to miss what is happening with Jesus' Sabbath actions imeediately following this parable. In Jesus' Sabbath actions the parable of the wineskins is vividly enacted. God gave people Sabbath as a gift, and commanded them to observe it. Sabbath observance cultivates a rhythm to our lives of work and rest that mirrors God's rhythm in creation. If we only work we will forget who holds the universe together and will mistakenly begin to believe that it is us. We will keep working until we burn out and have no choice but to rest. Sabbath is a gift that as Jesus points us was made for humanity. In Luke 6 we see that Sabbath, as observed by the Pharisees, had become an old wineskin. They were unable to see that in Jesus, God was fulfilling ancient promises, and making all things new. A new covenant was beginning, and the old wineskins were bursting. As we noted the point of wineskins is holding the wine. The wine in this case we might say was the principle of Sabbath. The wineskin would be how the Sabbath was observed. The wine is the point. Sabbath is the point. There are number of applications to this parable of wine and wineskins, but wherever we might apply it, the crucial thing for us to remember is that it is the wine that we are after. The wineskins are the container. On Sunday as we sought to apply ourselves to the passage the main 'wine' we looked at was discipleship. Our mission is to continue Jesus' revolution of love by loving God and loving people and teaching others to love God and love people. A disciple loves God and loves people and reaches out with the love of God to the waiting watching world. Or in other words a disciple is one who obeys the great command and follows the great commission. Disciples are the wine. The wineskin, to stretch the metaphor (maybe about to the point of breaking), is the local expression of how we 'do' church. We as followers of Jesus are the church. But, each local expression will also have a way of doing church. The doing will include the types of songs we sing, how we dress, how we do outreach, how we do small groups etc. The doing is the container. The doing is the wineskin for making disciples. Now I can very easily become like the Pharisees and really like the old wineskins. I can and do like our structures. I like how we dress and the music we sing. I like our way of doing church. But, here is where this passage wrestles with me. The passage asks me if I am willing to let go of the container for the sake of the wine? Or maybe a better way to say it would be, am I so captured by Jesus and his mission that I am willing to hold structures loosely? Or, for the sake of the wine am I willing to participate in making new wineskins – new structures within our local church? And am I ready to participate in the adventure of new churches? These questions are probably a good point to conclude this post. If you would continue like to continue to ponder these questions here a couple of links. This is a link that talks again about some of our current structures for making disciples 'the wine.' This is a link that looks at the reasons for planting new churches (new wineskins for making new disciples – new wine – we are after all a Vineyard). I am convinced that Jesus is inviting us as a fellowship into the journey of Church planting. We plant churches so that there will be new containers for new wine. New churches make new disciples. New churches also challenge, stretch, grow and call long time followers of Jesus into deeper discipleship. Once Jesus was asked a question about fasting by the Pharisees, and he responded by saying that it was not the appropriate time for his followers to fast. Then to illustrate the point he told a parable about patching clothes and followed the parable about patching clothes with a parable about new and old wine and new and old wineskins. He concludes that parable by saying that no one wants new wine after they have had old wine because they will say that the old is better. People familiar with wine will say that this is true, old wine is better. The way the chapters are broken up in our Bibles may cause us to miss what is happening with Jesus' Sabbath actions imeediately following this parable. In Jesus' Sabbath actions the parable of the wineskins is vividly enacted. God gave people Sabbath as a gift, and commanded them to observe it. Sabbath observance cultivates a rhythm to our lives of work and rest that mirrors God's rhythm in creation. If we only work we will forget who holds the universe together and will mistakenly begin to believe that it is us. We will keep working until we burn out and have no choice but to rest. Sabbath is a gift that as Jesus points us was made for humanity. In Luke 6 we see that Sabbath, as observed by the Pharisees, had become an old wineskin. They were unable to see that in Jesus, God was fulfilling ancient promises, and making all things new. A new covenant was beginning, and the old wineskins were bursting. As we noted the point of wineskins is holding the wine. The wine in this case we might say was the principle of Sabbath. The wineskin would be how the Sabbath was observed. The wine is the point. Sabbath is the point. There are number of applications to this parable of wine and wineskins, but wherever we might apply it, the crucial thing for us to remember is that it is the wine that we are after. The wineskins are the container. On Sunday as we sought to apply ourselves to the passage the main 'wine' we looked at was discipleship. Our mission is to continue Jesus' revolution of love by loving God and loving people and teaching others to love God and love people. A disciple loves God and loves people and reaches out with the love of God to the waiting watching world. Or in other words a disciple is one who obeys the great command and follows the great commission. Disciples are the wine. The wineskin, to stretch the metaphor (maybe about to the point of breaking), is the local expression of how we 'do' church. We as followers of Jesus are the church. But, each local expression will also have a way of doing church. The doing will include the types of songs we sing, how we dress, how we do outreach, how we do small groups etc. The doing is the container. The doing is the wineskin for making disciples. Now I can very easily become like the Pharisees and really like the old wineskins. I can and do like our structures. I like how we dress and the music we sing. I like our way of doing church. But, here is where this passage wrestles with me. The passage asks me if I am willing to let go of the container for the sake of the wine? Or maybe a better way to say it would be, am I so captured by Jesus and his mission that I am willing to hold structures loosely? Or, for the sake of the wine am I willing to participate in making new wineskins – new structures within our local church? And am I ready to participate in the adventure of new churches? These questions are probably a good point to conclude this post. If you would continue like to continue to ponder these questions here a couple of links. This is a link that talks again about some of our current structures for making disciples 'the wine.' This is a link that looks at the reasons for planting new churches (new wineskins for making new disciples – new wine – we are after all a Vineyard). I am convinced that Jesus is inviting us as a fellowship into the journey of Church planting. We plant churches so that there will be new containers for new wine. New churches make new disciples. New churches also challenge, stretch, grow and call long time followers of Jesus into deeper discipleship. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34692 34692 Wed, 30 May 2012 13:39:00 +0000 As we looked at the parable of the wineskins last week, we saw that the point is the wine. Stretching the metaphor, wine for us would be the making of disciples who love God and love people and carry on Jesus' Revolution. I was talking with Mark Leyen about this metaphor on Sunday and he said that he felt like I could have done more on Sunday in talking about how we 'make wine.' I do like this metaphor, because we are after all a Vineyard, and I hope and pray that we are fruitful and make really good wine (disciples). So continuing the metaphor, here is our basic recipe for wine (discipleship): Reachig Up; Reaching Out; and Reaching IN. Our recipe involves reaching in these three directions corporately; with a small group; and personally. Just for the fun of playing with the metaphor let's start with one grape (person), who currently has no connection to Jesus, and look at what we hope will happen with them over the course of a few years to help them become really good wine (a disciple). Let's begin with the most basic questions: Why become a disciple? And second, Why focus on making disciples. Why become a disciple? Because there is no one like Jesus and there is no life like following Jesus. Jesus said that his basic purpose was helping people live life to the full. Life with Jesus is the best life possible. Second, why make disciples? Because, there comes a point in our life of following Jesus that in order to move forward with Jesus ourselves we will need to be involved in helping others discover the richness of life with Jesus. So back to the grape, our recipe is designed to help someone who currently has no or very little connection with Jesus become a disciple and then become a disciple who makes disciples. The process begins with an invitation to encounter Jesus. The primary entry point right now for an encounter with our community (and through our community Jesus) would be one of our parties (block party/pancake breakfast/metro-cruise/pumpkin path/ trunk –r-treat/Easter Egg hunt etc), and/or our Sunday morning celebrations. Then, we encourage anyone who has been with us for a few Sundays (and also right now anyone who has not been through the new 101) to make a point of making it to one of our Vineyard 101 parties. During the 101 evening we have our primary goal would be that we impart a vision for a life of revolutionary love: reaching Up in love to God; out with Love to the world; and in with love to our fellowship. As a part of the evening we invite participants to agree to some basic practices that we believe will help them establish Up, Out and In rhythms in their lives. These practices form the path for the next steps in a disciple's life. One very important step that we recommend is participation in a small group. We ask people on the journey of discipleship to be regular participants at our Sunday celebrations and a regular part of a small group. Why both? Why not just one or the other? In short there are some discipleship needs that a larger celebration is optimal for, and some that small group is optimal for. For example larger gatherings are better for experiencing what theologians call the Transcendence of God. This is the truth that God is Big and Holy and –well Transcendent. This is one essential truth about God. Small groups are better place for experiencing the equally important truth that God is Immanent. This is the truth that God is near. The truth that God is always with us. The chart below is an attempt to capture the reality that in the journey of discipleship it is important to experience both the Transcendence and immanence of God and a rhythm of larger corporate gatherings and smaller gatherings is a great way to experience both realities of God: Reach/Need Large Group Small Group Experience of God (UP) God's Transcendence (God is Great) God's Immanence (God is close) Feeling of Belonging (IN) Movement (Cause greater than ourselves) Family New People (Out) Safe place to explore Friends Optimal Place for… Teaching/Preaching Applying ourselves to the Bible Worship Celebration Intimacy Life change (discipleship) Example/stories Personal Application So an essential part of the recipe of for helping grapes become wine is establishing practices of reaching Up; Out and In, in both larger corporate gatherings and in small group settings. The other crucial dimension for becoming a disciple is personally embracing the practices of reaching Up; Out and In. Our 201 workshop is designed with the goal of establishing these habits in our personal life. 201 teaches us over seven workshops, practices for following Jesus personally for the long haul. Four workshops focus on practices to sustain us in reaching Up: Workshop One is trusting Jesus and exercising a life of thankfulness to Jesus in all circumstances Workshop Two is learning to hear Jesus in prayer through: Commanding Scripture; Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs Workshop Three is learning to connect with Jesus through the Bible. We recommend SOAP as a way of connecting. Workshop Seven is learning to trust God with our finances and giving generously One Workshop focuses on practices for living a lifestyle of Reaching Out: Workshop Five teaches us how to tell the stories of our experiences with God, and encourages us in the practice of praying for our six. Two workshops focus on learning practices to sustain us in Reaching In Workshop Four teaches us to pursue healing both for ourselves and for others. We focus on receiving healing ourselves through forgiveness, and learn how to introduce praying for healing for others. (there are certainly elements of this workshop that are important for reaching out i.e. learning to pray for others on the spot) Workshop Six focuses on practices for sharing our lives with others within the church community and in particular our small group. We focus moving from the destructive practices of assigning intent to others (judging), and gossip which tears at the fabric of community to entering conversations that foster understanding and bring wholeness to community.In the ever popular chart here are key personal commitments we hope will become a part of us as we go through 201. UP (1,2,3 &7) OUT (4&5) IN (4&6) Trust Jesus Prayer for six Pursuing Healing Listen to Jesus Tell your story Turning from judgment Connect with Jesus through the Bible Extend the invitation Turning from gossip Give generously Praying on the spot Engaging for wholeness in community The information of 201 is important, but what is crucial, if we are going to be transformed into lifelong followers of Jesus, is actual engagement with the practices. Unless we develope personal practices of reaching Up, Out and In, the good information in 201 will be just that – information. To equip us and sustain us in reaching Up, Out and IN we currently offer a couple of additional weekend seminars: The Holy Spirit Seminar; and Healing Prayer. The Holy Spirit seminar introduces to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and teaches us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Healing Prayer seminar teaches how to pray in the authority Jesus gave us for physical and emotional healing. As we engage corporately, in small groups and personally in Reaching Up, Out and Up, we will grow as followers of Jesus. As we grow a crucial final ingredient in being lifelong followers of Jesus, is leading others in becoming disciples. Our 301 workshop focuses on the character, calling and competencies of Kingdom leaders with a particular focus on leading small groups. It turns out that one of the best ways for us to grow personally in following Jesus is to lead others in following Jesus. Following 301 small group leaders will enter into a regular pattern of huddling with each other for encouragement and growth and a pattern of coaching for development of their leadership character, calling and coompentencies. Then, finally we hope that leaders of small groups will be able to train other leaders of small groups. Or in other words they will be disciples who make disciples. Then as Jesus leads these small group leaders/disciple makers will be able to be integral parts of new church plants. We are hoping to be a part of a Kingdom movement. So there in short is our process for helping grapes (anyone who joins with us) become fine wine (disciples who make disciples who make disciples …) By God's grace may we stay true to our calling to continue Jesus' revolution and be disciples who make disciples who make disciples… As we looked at the parable of the wineskins last week, we saw that the point is the wine. Stretching the metaphor, wine for us would be the making of disciples who love God and love people and carry on Jesus' Revolution. I was talking with Mark Leyen about this metaphor on Sunday and he said that he felt like I could have done more on Sunday in talking about how we 'make wine.' I do like this metaphor, because we are after all a Vineyard, and I hope and pray that we are fruitful and make really good wine (disciples). So continuing the metaphor, here is our basic recipe for wine (discipleship): Reachig Up; Reaching Out; and Reaching IN. Our recipe involves reaching in these three directions corporately; with a small group; and personally. Just for the fun of playing with the metaphor let's start with one grape (person), who currently has no connection to Jesus, and look at what we hope will happen with them over the course of a few years to help them become really good wine (a disciple). Let's begin with the most basic questions: Why become a disciple? And second, Why focus on making disciples. Why become a disciple? Because there is no one like Jesus and there is no life like following Jesus. Jesus said that his basic purpose was helping people live life to the full. Life with Jesus is the best life possible. Second, why make disciples? Because, there comes a point in our life of following Jesus that in order to move forward with Jesus ourselves we will need to be involved in helping others discover the richness of life with Jesus. So back to the grape, our recipe is designed to help someone who currently has no or very little connection with Jesus become a disciple and then become a disciple who makes disciples. The process begins with an invitation to encounter Jesus. The primary entry point right now for an encounter with our community (and through our community Jesus) would be one of our parties (block party/pancake breakfast/metro-cruise/pumpkin path/ trunk –r-treat/Easter Egg hunt etc), and/or our Sunday morning celebrations. Then, we encourage anyone who has been with us for a few Sundays (and also right now anyone who has not been through the new 101) to make a point of making it to one of our Vineyard 101 parties. During the 101 evening we have our primary goal would be that we impart a vision for a life of revolutionary love: reaching Up in love to God; out with Love to the world; and in with love to our fellowship. As a part of the evening we invite participants to agree to some basic practices that we believe will help them establish Up, Out and In rhythms in their lives. These practices form the path for the next steps in a disciple's life. One very important step that we recommend is participation in a small group. We ask people on the journey of discipleship to be regular participants at our Sunday celebrations and a regular part of a small group. Why both? Why not just one or the other? In short there are some discipleship needs that a larger celebration is optimal for, and some that small group is optimal for. For example larger gatherings are better for experiencing what theologians call the Transcendence of God. This is the truth that God is Big and Holy and –well Transcendent. This is one essential truth about God. Small groups are better place for experiencing the equally important truth that God is Immanent. This is the truth that God is near. The truth that God is always with us. The chart below is an attempt to capture the reality that in the journey of discipleship it is important to experience both the Transcendence and immanence of God and a rhythm of larger corporate gatherings and smaller gatherings is a great way to experience both realities of God: Reach/Need Large Group Small Group Experience of God (UP) God's Transcendence (God is Great) God's Immanence (God is close) Feeling of Belonging (IN) Movement (Cause greater than ourselves) Family New People (Out) Safe place to explore Friends Optimal Place for… Teaching/Preaching Applying ourselves to the Bible Worship Celebration Intimacy Life change (discipleship) Example/stories Personal Application So an essential part of the recipe of for helping grapes become wine is establishing practices of reaching Up; Out and In, in both larger corporate gatherings and in small group settings. The other crucial dimension for becoming a disciple is personally embracing the practices of reaching Up; Out and In. Our 201 workshop is designed with the goal of establishing these habits in our personal life. 201 teaches us over seven workshops, practices for following Jesus personally for the long haul. Four workshops focus on practices to sustain us in reaching Up: Workshop One is trusting Jesus and exercising a life of thankfulness to Jesus in all circumstances Workshop Two is learning to hear Jesus in prayer through: Commanding Scripture; Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs Workshop Three is learning to connect with Jesus through the Bible. We recommend SOAP as a way of connecting. Workshop Seven is learning to trust God with our finances and giving generously One Workshop focuses on practices for living a lifestyle of Reaching Out: Workshop Five teaches us how to tell the stories of our experiences with God, and encourages us in the practice of praying for our six. Two workshops focus on learning practices to sustain us in Reaching In Workshop Four teaches us to pursue healing both for ourselves and for others. We focus on receiving healing ourselves through forgiveness, and learn how to introduce praying for healing for others. (there are certainly elements of this workshop that are important for reaching out i.e. learning to pray for others on the spot) Workshop Six focuses on practices for sharing our lives with others within the church community and in particular our small group. We focus moving from the destructive practices of assigning intent to others (judging), and gossip which tears at the fabric of community to entering conversations that foster understanding and bring wholeness to community.In the ever popular chart here are key personal commitments we hope will become a part of us as we go through 201. UP (1,2,3 &7) OUT (4&5) IN (4&6) Trust Jesus Prayer for six Pursuing Healing Listen to Jesus Tell your story Turning from judgment Connect with Jesus through the Bible Extend the invitation Turning from gossip Give generously Praying on the spot Engaging for wholeness in community The information of 201 is important, but what is crucial, if we are going to be transformed into lifelong followers of Jesus, is actual engagement with the practices. Unless we develope personal practices of reaching Up, Out and In, the good information in 201 will be just that – information. To equip us and sustain us in reaching Up, Out and IN we currently offer a couple of additional weekend seminars: The Holy Spirit Seminar; and Healing Prayer. The Holy Spirit seminar introduces to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and teaches us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Healing Prayer seminar teaches how to pray in the authority Jesus gave us for physical and emotional healing. As we engage corporately, in small groups and personally in Reaching Up, Out and Up, we will grow as followers of Jesus. As we grow a crucial final ingredient in being lifelong followers of Jesus, is leading others in becoming disciples. Our 301 workshop focuses on the character, calling and competencies of Kingdom leaders with a particular focus on leading small groups. It turns out that one of the best ways for us to grow personally in following Jesus is to lead others in following Jesus. Following 301 small group leaders will enter into a regular pattern of huddling with each other for encouragement and growth and a pattern of coaching for development of their leadership character, calling and coompentencies. Then, finally we hope that leaders of small groups will be able to train other leaders of small groups. Or in other words they will be disciples who make disciples. Then as Jesus leads these small group leaders/disciple makers will be able to be integral parts of new church plants. We are hoping to be a part of a Kingdom movement. So there in short is our process for helping grapes (anyone who joins with us) become fine wine (disciples who make disciples who make disciples …) By God's grace may we stay true to our calling to continue Jesus' revolution and be disciples who make disciples who make disciples… http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34691 34691 Wed, 30 May 2012 13:18:00 +0000 For a couple of years now I have felt strong leading from the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is calling us to plant new churches. Through this prompting we have talked about a dream of partnering in planting ten churches over the next ten years. At times this seems really overwhelming and scary, and I am depressed by how overwhelming the task seems when compared with where we currently are; and at others I am completely captured by this dream. In my best moments, I know that if this is a call from Jesus (and I believe that it is) that following Jesus is the best possible way to live. I'm with Peter – I don't know where else I would go. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life, so where Jesus leads I want to follow. We learn in our Vineyard 201 workshop about hearing God. We hear Jesus through: Commanding Scripture; Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs. (All CS's to help us remember and practice hearing Jesus). I feel like planting new churches would be very much in line with Commanding Scripture of going and making disciples, and I also sense the Spirit Compelling us. However, we also note in 201 that we grow in hearing and that we don't hear perfectly. Uultimately our confidence is not in our ability to hear, but our confidence is in Jesus as our Good Shepherd to lead us. So, I feel like I am hearing from God about planting churches, but at the same time I recognize that I don't hear perfectly. I could be wrong about this. I am seeking the Counsel of the Saints. This is why we asked about this dream as a part of our family huddle. If this a call from God (and again I believe it is), God will give us a growing sense of call as a body to this. There to date have been some Confirming Signs. First is the Clemences' call to Hasting to plant a new Vineyard there. Second, is an emerging partnership with Vineyard North. Vineyard North is in the process of planning for a plant on the Southeastern side of the Grand Rapids metro area. We will hear from the planter, Amos, on June 10. The right question to ask is Why plant new churches? It will after all most likely be quite challenging. The first answer must be that this is what Jesus is calling us to. If Jesus isn't calling us to this, then we shouldn't. But if he is, then the best possible course for us is to move forward. So, for us in our particular situation this must be our first answer – Jesus has called us. Now what I would like to look at is a more general answer to the question: Why Plant New Churches? Particularly why plant Churches in West Michigan? After all isn't Grand Rapids the city of Churches? According to the 2012 census Kent county had a population of 574,335. According to David Olson of the American Church research project on average, 26.2% of this population is a part of a weekly worship gathering. This means that each week on average there are 429,402 people in Kent county not participating in a worship gathering. Now granted weekly worship attendance is probably not the best indicator of a life richly connected to God, but it probably does tell us something. At a minimum it would indicate that there are a significant number of people without a church. The Bible indicates that it is very difficult (some would say impossible) to follow Jesus and remain connected to Jesus without being a part of a local church. Again participating in a local church does not guarantee a connection with Jesus, but Biblically speaking we could say that it is at best very difficult to stay connected to Jesus without a connection to a church. So general reason one for planting new churches in Kent County, there are hundreds of thousands of people in Kent county without a connection to a local church, Jesus' heart is for them. Second reason for planting new churches in Kent county is that new churches are simply more effective in making new disciples. In its first three years of life, a church of 100, will help ten new people per year begin to follow Jesus. From three to fifteen years on average a church of 100 will help 5 new people per year begin to follow Jesus. After fifteen years a church of 100 will on average help 3 new people per year begin to follow Jesus. We are now about 22 years old as a church and we fit basically within these statistics. Now statistics are not destiny. I pray that we see many people begin to follow Jesus and enter into a life-giving relationship with him through our work. We are working to be a place where both long-time followers of Jesus and people new to following Jesus take the next step. We hope to be a people in motion following Jesus. So we desire to do way better than the statistics. At the same time, there is probably something really wise about beginning new works to help the people of Kent county who are un-churched or de-churched of Kent connect with Jesus. So, why plant new churches? First for us, would have to be a deep call from Jesus – without this call the other reasons do not matter. Why in Kent County? Because there are hundreds of thousands of people in Kent County that Jesus loves without a connection to a church. New churches are the best way to help them connect with Jesus. I pray for us an increased sense of call and mission from Jesus, and a burning desire to participate in His Revolution of Love right here in Kent County. If you would like to pray and think more about being a part of a church plant in the future, I really encourage you to: Fully participate right now in the life of Southside as way of preparing to be a part of a future plant. We believe that full on participation right now is ideal training for the future. Read this article by Tim Keller and let it stir your imagination Let me know that you are interested in participating in a plant in the future, and we can talk together about some next steps. May we be a people who participate fully in all that Jesus is calling us to. For a couple of years now I have felt strong leading from the Holy Spirit, that Jesus is calling us to plant new churches. Through this prompting we have talked about a dream of partnering in planting ten churches over the next ten years. At times this seems really overwhelming and scary, and I am depressed by how overwhelming the task seems when compared with where we currently are; and at others I am completely captured by this dream. In my best moments, I know that if this is a call from Jesus (and I believe that it is) that following Jesus is the best possible way to live. I'm with Peter – I don't know where else I would go. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life, so where Jesus leads I want to follow. We learn in our Vineyard 201 workshop about hearing God. We hear Jesus through: Commanding Scripture; Compelling Spirit; Counsel of the Saints; and Confirming Signs. (All CS's to help us remember and practice hearing Jesus). I feel like planting new churches would be very much in line with Commanding Scripture of going and making disciples, and I also sense the Spirit Compelling us. However, we also note in 201 that we grow in hearing and that we don't hear perfectly. Uultimately our confidence is not in our ability to hear, but our confidence is in Jesus as our Good Shepherd to lead us. So, I feel like I am hearing from God about planting churches, but at the same time I recognize that I don't hear perfectly. I could be wrong about this. I am seeking the Counsel of the Saints. This is why we asked about this dream as a part of our family huddle. If this a call from God (and again I believe it is), God will give us a growing sense of call as a body to this. There to date have been some Confirming Signs. First is the Clemences' call to Hasting to plant a new Vineyard there. Second, is an emerging partnership with Vineyard North. Vineyard North is in the process of planning for a plant on the Southeastern side of the Grand Rapids metro area. We will hear from the planter, Amos, on June 10. The right question to ask is Why plant new churches? It will after all most likely be quite challenging. The first answer must be that this is what Jesus is calling us to. If Jesus isn't calling us to this, then we shouldn't. But if he is, then the best possible course for us is to move forward. So, for us in our particular situation this must be our first answer – Jesus has called us. Now what I would like to look at is a more general answer to the question: Why Plant New Churches? Particularly why plant Churches in West Michigan? After all isn't Grand Rapids the city of Churches? According to the 2012 census Kent county had a population of 574,335. According to David Olson of the American Church research project on average, 26.2% of this population is a part of a weekly worship gathering. This means that each week on average there are 429,402 people in Kent county not participating in a worship gathering. Now granted weekly worship attendance is probably not the best indicator of a life richly connected to God, but it probably does tell us something. At a minimum it would indicate that there are a significant number of people without a church. The Bible indicates that it is very difficult (some would say impossible) to follow Jesus and remain connected to Jesus without being a part of a local church. Again participating in a local church does not guarantee a connection with Jesus, but Biblically speaking we could say that it is at best very difficult to stay connected to Jesus without a connection to a church. So general reason one for planting new churches in Kent County, there are hundreds of thousands of people in Kent county without a connection to a local church, Jesus' heart is for them. Second reason for planting new churches in Kent county is that new churches are simply more effective in making new disciples. In its first three years of life, a church of 100, will help ten new people per year begin to follow Jesus. From three to fifteen years on average a church of 100 will help 5 new people per year begin to follow Jesus. After fifteen years a church of 100 will on average help 3 new people per year begin to follow Jesus. We are now about 22 years old as a church and we fit basically within these statistics. Now statistics are not destiny. I pray that we see many people begin to follow Jesus and enter into a life-giving relationship with him through our work. We are working to be a place where both long-time followers of Jesus and people new to following Jesus take the next step. We hope to be a people in motion following Jesus. So we desire to do way better than the statistics. At the same time, there is probably something really wise about beginning new works to help the people of Kent county who are un-churched or de-churched of Kent connect with Jesus. So, why plant new churches? First for us, would have to be a deep call from Jesus – without this call the other reasons do not matter. Why in Kent County? Because there are hundreds of thousands of people in Kent County that Jesus loves without a connection to a church. New churches are the best way to help them connect with Jesus. I pray for us an increased sense of call and mission from Jesus, and a burning desire to participate in His Revolution of Love right here in Kent County. If you would like to pray and think more about being a part of a church plant in the future, I really encourage you to: Fully participate right now in the life of Southside as way of preparing to be a part of a future plant. We believe that full on participation right now is ideal training for the future. Read this article by Tim Keller and let it stir your imagination Let me know that you are interested in participating in a plant in the future, and we can talk together about some next steps. May we be a people who participate fully in all that Jesus is calling us to. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34689 34689 Wed, 30 May 2012 13:01:00 +0000 After Jesus' ordeal in the wilderness he went in the power of the Spirit throughout the region of Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. He had a custom of going to the local synagogue on the Sabbath and teaching. One Sabbath he went to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and read from the scroll of the prophet of Isaiah 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news for the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' After reading he rolled up the scroll and said, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' Jesus as he read fulfills the passage and then as he acts continues to fulfill this passage. As we read and ponder how this passage is being fulfilled we enter into the deep mystery of Jesus the Christ. The early church developed a Biblical understanding of Christ, that was careful to say that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. The church lives best and witnesses best to the living Christ when both aspects of Christ are robustly proclaimed. However, the church has been prone to error on either side, by either saying that Jesus was just a really good man, or undervaluing the humanity of Christ. When we undervalue the humanity of Christ we lose the mystery of the incarnation and we fail to appreciate the truth that Jesus was in every way tempted just as we are. In short we lose the truth that Jesus shows us what it really means to be human. The way Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, crafts this gospel, shows us that Jesus fulfills Isaiah 61 as he lives as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. Paul in Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus laid aside the privileges of being God. Jesus proclaims and demonstrates the Kingdom of God, empowered by the Spirit. God the Father sends Jesus and empowers him with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. After Jesus' resurrection Jesus told his followers that he would send them in the same way, and then Jesus said 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' Jesus fulfills and models Spirit empowered proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom. After the crowd at Nazareth turns on him, and attempts to kill him, he went throughout the rest of the region of Galilee proclaiming and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed good news and then tangibly demonstrated the Kingdom as he healed the sick. Following Jesus and being sent as he was sent means that we will both proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom. Our proclamation will be that God is good, and that his Kingdom is good – that there is no downside with good. Then we will also be the people who tangibly demonstrate the goodness and nearness of the Kingdom. We will embrace and live both the proclamation and the demonstration. One thing that I felt the Spirit would say to us is that Jesus really wants a church that will embrace the 'both and's' of the Kingdom . For some reason I and any other number Jesus followers are tempted to play the 'both and's' of the Kingdom off against each other and turn them into 'either or's.' For example Jesus invites us to both proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins and demonstrate the Kingdom through our care of the poor and our pursuit of healing and demonstration of the Kingdom through signs and wonders. But, sadly too often care of the poor has been labeled as a 'social gospel' and rejected, or conversely churches with a focus on social justice have accused other churches of being so 'heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.' Jesus modeled and desires both a proclamation and a demonstration. Jesus invites the church to embrace all aspects of the Kingdom. Jesus models both proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom, and he also models staying connected with the Father. Jesus had been proclaiming the Kingdom in the synagogue and then in evening he had been demonstrating the Kingdom through healing the sick, and everybody flocked to him. But, Jesus, in the midst of this great ministry success withdrew to a desolate place. After having been alone with the Father, he refused to stay, but instead moved on to proclaim the Kingdom throughout the region, because he said that is why he was sent. Before his public ministryhe he withdrew to the wilderness for forty days, and throughout the rest of his ministry he had a pattern of withdrawing to connect with the Father to pray. As Dallas Willard says, 'If Jesus needed forty days, maybe I could use one here and there.' To embrace both the proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom we also must regularly withdraw to connect with the Father. May we be a people connected to the Father, empowered by the Spirit who continue Jesus' revolution both proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. After Jesus' ordeal in the wilderness he went in the power of the Spirit throughout the region of Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. He had a custom of going to the local synagogue on the Sabbath and teaching. One Sabbath he went to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, and read from the scroll of the prophet of Isaiah 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news for the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' After reading he rolled up the scroll and said, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' Jesus as he read fulfills the passage and then as he acts continues to fulfill this passage. As we read and ponder how this passage is being fulfilled we enter into the deep mystery of Jesus the Christ. The early church developed a Biblical understanding of Christ, that was careful to say that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. The church lives best and witnesses best to the living Christ when both aspects of Christ are robustly proclaimed. However, the church has been prone to error on either side, by either saying that Jesus was just a really good man, or undervaluing the humanity of Christ. When we undervalue the humanity of Christ we lose the mystery of the incarnation and we fail to appreciate the truth that Jesus was in every way tempted just as we are. In short we lose the truth that Jesus shows us what it really means to be human. The way Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, crafts this gospel, shows us that Jesus fulfills Isaiah 61 as he lives as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. Paul in Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus laid aside the privileges of being God. Jesus proclaims and demonstrates the Kingdom of God, empowered by the Spirit. God the Father sends Jesus and empowers him with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. After Jesus' resurrection Jesus told his followers that he would send them in the same way, and then Jesus said 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' Jesus fulfills and models Spirit empowered proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom. After the crowd at Nazareth turns on him, and attempts to kill him, he went throughout the rest of the region of Galilee proclaiming and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed good news and then tangibly demonstrated the Kingdom as he healed the sick. Following Jesus and being sent as he was sent means that we will both proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom. Our proclamation will be that God is good, and that his Kingdom is good – that there is no downside with good. Then we will also be the people who tangibly demonstrate the goodness and nearness of the Kingdom. We will embrace and live both the proclamation and the demonstration. One thing that I felt the Spirit would say to us is that Jesus really wants a church that will embrace the 'both and's' of the Kingdom . For some reason I and any other number Jesus followers are tempted to play the 'both and's' of the Kingdom off against each other and turn them into 'either or's.' For example Jesus invites us to both proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins and demonstrate the Kingdom through our care of the poor and our pursuit of healing and demonstration of the Kingdom through signs and wonders. But, sadly too often care of the poor has been labeled as a 'social gospel' and rejected, or conversely churches with a focus on social justice have accused other churches of being so 'heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.' Jesus modeled and desires both a proclamation and a demonstration. Jesus invites the church to embrace all aspects of the Kingdom. Jesus models both proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom, and he also models staying connected with the Father. Jesus had been proclaiming the Kingdom in the synagogue and then in evening he had been demonstrating the Kingdom through healing the sick, and everybody flocked to him. But, Jesus, in the midst of this great ministry success withdrew to a desolate place. After having been alone with the Father, he refused to stay, but instead moved on to proclaim the Kingdom throughout the region, because he said that is why he was sent. Before his public ministryhe he withdrew to the wilderness for forty days, and throughout the rest of his ministry he had a pattern of withdrawing to connect with the Father to pray. As Dallas Willard says, 'If Jesus needed forty days, maybe I could use one here and there.' To embrace both the proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom we also must regularly withdraw to connect with the Father. May we be a people connected to the Father, empowered by the Spirit who continue Jesus' revolution both proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34339 34339 Tue, 15 May 2012 13:29:00 +0000 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism. At his baptism the Spirit had descended on him, and the voice of the Father from Heaven said, 'You are my beloved son, and I am fully pleased with you.' Filled with the Spirit and walking in his identity as son Jesus goes into the wilderness. There in the wildernpess, the devil tempts him. The devil begins the temptation with the taunt, 'If you are the son of God.' The devil, it would seem, aims to make Jesus doubt his identity as God's son. Jesus, however, stands firm. As we observe Jesus standing firm we notice the nature of temptation and how we also can resist. The question of identity is at the root of temptation. When we are tempted, the basic thrust of the temptation will be about our identity and God's . The devil will want us to wonder if we really are God's child, and then also to wonder whether God is really good. The implication of the first temptation is that if God were really good, you wouldn't be hungry right now. There is a question: Will God really meet your needs? To get at the root of temptation, we must have embedded in the foundation of our souls two truths. First we must trust that God is good, and second we must trust that as we trust God's son Jesus we are children of God. God calls us beloved child. This forms our identity. God is our Father and our Father is good. This was the foundation of Jesus' life and must be the foundation of ours if we are to resist temptation. We are not left alone to work up our own sense of identity, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit the Bible tells us cries out Abba Father. The Holy Spirit enables us to live in our identity as dearly loved children. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he resisted temptation and we also must be filled with the Holy Spirit if we are to resist temptation. The root of temptation is identity, ours and Gods, and though the content of temptation will vary from person to person, the basic thread of temptation will be some twisting of good. The temptations that the devil throws at Jesus twist things that are in themselves good. The devil is not the Creator. God created the universe, the devil corrupts and pollutes the good creation. The devil makes nothing. The devil did not make life. The devil attempts to rob of life. God is good and God's creation is good. The devil looks for ways to twist the good, that will lead to death. God describes the whole of His creation as good. That means that the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil was good and served a good purpose, but the purpose was not the nourishment of humans, maybe it was just meant for climbing, but not for eating. The devil twists the good and urges the first humans to misuse the good. The same thread continues with Jesus (and remember Luke has connected Jesus to Adam through the genealogy in Chapter 3 – 'the son or so it was thought of Joseph…. the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God). In tempting Jesus, the devil offers three things that are in themselves good: food, authority and power; but they are offered in a twisted way that had Jesus succumbed, shalom would have been further shattered. As Jesus resists we see that the weapon he resists with is the sword of the word. He replies to each temptation with truth from the Bible. Jesus' life has obviously been saturated in the story of God and his people, and Jesus draws on this story to resist temptation. If we are going to move forward in resisting temptation our lives will also need to be saturated in the word of God as Jesus' was. One of the passages Jesus resists with is the admonition to worship and serve God alone. Worship is the fuel for our fight against temptation. As we worship we magnify God in our lives. Worship brings into clear focus who God is. Worship focuses us on the goodness of God and reminds us that this good God is our father. Worship recharges us for the fight. Finally because Jesus was tempted as we are yet without sin, he is the model for us in resisting and provides strength for us in our weakness. The book of Hebrews tells us that he knows exactly what it is like to be tempted. Since he does he sympathizes with us and provides us with grace and mercy in our time of need. As we connect with Jesus we find strength to resist, and we discover that life with Jesus far surpasses any other way of life. Succumbing to temptation shatters shalom within us and the world around us, but confessing cleanses us and equips us to move forward, and resist the next time. As we resist we truly discover that there is no life like life with Jesus. We made a few suggestions at the end of our time for resisting temptation: Know God as Father. A great way to grow in knowing God as Father is to pray the prayer Jesus gave us. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus invites us to ask our good Father to fill us again and again, and we need to be filled again and again, because as we noted – we leak. Get the word in us. The word of God is alive and active and a potent weapon when we yield it in resisting temptation. Worship of the living God will fuel our desire to serve only him. As we saturate our lives in the worship of the living God. Temptation becomes much less tempting. The key of keys is connection with Jesus the one who was tempted just as we are. May we be a people who are rooted in our identity as children of the living God, filled with the Holy Spirit, saturated with the Word, overflowing with worship, connected to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism. At his baptism the Spirit had descended on him, and the voice of the Father from Heaven said, 'You are my beloved son, and I am fully pleased with you.' Filled with the Spirit and walking in his identity as son Jesus goes into the wilderness. There in the wildernpess, the devil tempts him. The devil begins the temptation with the taunt, 'If you are the son of God.' The devil, it would seem, aims to make Jesus doubt his identity as God's son. Jesus, however, stands firm. As we observe Jesus standing firm we notice the nature of temptation and how we also can resist. The question of identity is at the root of temptation. When we are tempted, the basic thrust of the temptation will be about our identity and God's . The devil will want us to wonder if we really are God's child, and then also to wonder whether God is really good. The implication of the first temptation is that if God were really good, you wouldn't be hungry right now. There is a question: Will God really meet your needs? To get at the root of temptation, we must have embedded in the foundation of our souls two truths. First we must trust that God is good, and second we must trust that as we trust God's son Jesus we are children of God. God calls us beloved child. This forms our identity. God is our Father and our Father is good. This was the foundation of Jesus' life and must be the foundation of ours if we are to resist temptation. We are not left alone to work up our own sense of identity, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit the Bible tells us cries out Abba Father. The Holy Spirit enables us to live in our identity as dearly loved children. Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit as he resisted temptation and we also must be filled with the Holy Spirit if we are to resist temptation. The root of temptation is identity, ours and Gods, and though the content of temptation will vary from person to person, the basic thread of temptation will be some twisting of good. The temptations that the devil throws at Jesus twist things that are in themselves good. The devil is not the Creator. God created the universe, the devil corrupts and pollutes the good creation. The devil makes nothing. The devil did not make life. The devil attempts to rob of life. God is good and God's creation is good. The devil looks for ways to twist the good, that will lead to death. God describes the whole of His creation as good. That means that the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil was good and served a good purpose, but the purpose was not the nourishment of humans, maybe it was just meant for climbing, but not for eating. The devil twists the good and urges the first humans to misuse the good. The same thread continues with Jesus (and remember Luke has connected Jesus to Adam through the genealogy in Chapter 3 – 'the son or so it was thought of Joseph…. the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God). In tempting Jesus, the devil offers three things that are in themselves good: food, authority and power; but they are offered in a twisted way that had Jesus succumbed, shalom would have been further shattered. As Jesus resists we see that the weapon he resists with is the sword of the word. He replies to each temptation with truth from the Bible. Jesus' life has obviously been saturated in the story of God and his people, and Jesus draws on this story to resist temptation. If we are going to move forward in resisting temptation our lives will also need to be saturated in the word of God as Jesus' was. One of the passages Jesus resists with is the admonition to worship and serve God alone. Worship is the fuel for our fight against temptation. As we worship we magnify God in our lives. Worship brings into clear focus who God is. Worship focuses us on the goodness of God and reminds us that this good God is our father. Worship recharges us for the fight. Finally because Jesus was tempted as we are yet without sin, he is the model for us in resisting and provides strength for us in our weakness. The book of Hebrews tells us that he knows exactly what it is like to be tempted. Since he does he sympathizes with us and provides us with grace and mercy in our time of need. As we connect with Jesus we find strength to resist, and we discover that life with Jesus far surpasses any other way of life. Succumbing to temptation shatters shalom within us and the world around us, but confessing cleanses us and equips us to move forward, and resist the next time. As we resist we truly discover that there is no life like life with Jesus. We made a few suggestions at the end of our time for resisting temptation: Know God as Father. A great way to grow in knowing God as Father is to pray the prayer Jesus gave us. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus invites us to ask our good Father to fill us again and again, and we need to be filled again and again, because as we noted – we leak. Get the word in us. The word of God is alive and active and a potent weapon when we yield it in resisting temptation. Worship of the living God will fuel our desire to serve only him. As we saturate our lives in the worship of the living God. Temptation becomes much less tempting. The key of keys is connection with Jesus the one who was tempted just as we are. May we be a people who are rooted in our identity as children of the living God, filled with the Holy Spirit, saturated with the Word, overflowing with worship, connected to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=34131 34131 Tue, 8 May 2012 09:15:00 +0000 John the Baptist lived in the wilderness. There in the wilderness, John hears the word of God, and begins preaching and baptizing. Luke carefully lists the men in positions of power both political and religious, when the word of God came to John in the wilderness. I believe Luke purposely juxtaposes those in the seats of power and John in the wilderness – the text subtly whispers if we listen - don't look just at the big affairs of politics and religion. If you are looking for the activity of God, you may have to look in the wilderness. Both John and Jesus model going to the lonely places of solitude to connect with God. We too, as we learn to hear the voice of God will need regular times away from the business, bigness and brightness of society, or we may be blinded and deafened by our bright, busy and loud society. John after hearing the word of God, begins the work of preparing the people for the visitation of Jesus with the message to repent, and be baptized. Gentile converts where baptized to become Jewish. John in effect is telling the people they really are not Jewish, at this point they are not the people of God. Remarkably, crowds stream out into the desert, (later Jesus will ask the people what they were going to the desert to see), submitting to this tough message. As they stream towards him, John calls them a 'brood of vipers.' 'Brood of vipers' would have invoked memories of the opening chapters of the story when the serpent leads the humans to rebel against God's good purposes. In calling them a brood of vipers, John in effect is saying that they are colluding with the enemy, and the enemy's anti-kingdom and anti-shalom purposes. Surprisingly, the people submit to this word and ask John what they should do. John gives specific instruction to three distinct groups of people: the crowd; the tax-collectors; and the soldiers (probably not Roman soldiers, but Herod's). John's challenges each to turn from their own plans for security and provision, as evidence of fruit of repentance. He holds a mirror to them and shows them how their current actions fragment shalom. In their current actions they act as agents of the anti-kingdom. Rather than being offended the people begin to wonder if John could be the Messiah. Here John obediently fulfills his role as the one to prepare the way for Jesus. He dramatically points away from himself to the one that is to come. He basically says that they shouldn't even be asking this question, and that there is no real comparison between him and the one who is coming, because while he baptizes with water, the one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The one who is coming will burn away the chaff. Luke summarizes John's ministry by saying, 'and with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news.' As I mentioned on Sunday as modern hearers we would be forgiven for expecting a winking emoticom, when Luke calls this good news. However, as we allow this text to sink in we realize that this is indeed good news. John is telling his hearers and us, that the one who is coming will be purifying us from our tendencies and actions that are anti-Kingdom(remember he is savior and will save his people from their sins). He will be fitting us to be agents of the eternal kingdom. He will free us from being shatterers of Shalom and purifying us so that we will be shalom-spreaders and kingdom-bringers. John is doing just what Isaiah had prophesied. He is preparing the way of the Lord. He is pointing to the one to come. May we be the people who hear John's message and prepare for our King. John the Baptist lived in the wilderness. There in the wilderness, John hears the word of God, and begins preaching and baptizing. Luke carefully lists the men in positions of power both political and religious, when the word of God came to John in the wilderness. I believe Luke purposely juxtaposes those in the seats of power and John in the wilderness – the text subtly whispers if we listen - don't look just at the big affairs of politics and religion. If you are looking for the activity of God, you may have to look in the wilderness. Both John and Jesus model going to the lonely places of solitude to connect with God. We too, as we learn to hear the voice of God will need regular times away from the business, bigness and brightness of society, or we may be blinded and deafened by our bright, busy and loud society. John after hearing the word of God, begins the work of preparing the people for the visitation of Jesus with the message to repent, and be baptized. Gentile converts where baptized to become Jewish. John in effect is telling the people they really are not Jewish, at this point they are not the people of God. Remarkably, crowds stream out into the desert, (later Jesus will ask the people what they were going to the desert to see), submitting to this tough message. As they stream towards him, John calls them a 'brood of vipers.' 'Brood of vipers' would have invoked memories of the opening chapters of the story when the serpent leads the humans to rebel against God's good purposes. In calling them a brood of vipers, John in effect is saying that they are colluding with the enemy, and the enemy's anti-kingdom and anti-shalom purposes. Surprisingly, the people submit to this word and ask John what they should do. John gives specific instruction to three distinct groups of people: the crowd; the tax-collectors; and the soldiers (probably not Roman soldiers, but Herod's). John's challenges each to turn from their own plans for security and provision, as evidence of fruit of repentance. He holds a mirror to them and shows them how their current actions fragment shalom. In their current actions they act as agents of the anti-kingdom. Rather than being offended the people begin to wonder if John could be the Messiah. Here John obediently fulfills his role as the one to prepare the way for Jesus. He dramatically points away from himself to the one that is to come. He basically says that they shouldn't even be asking this question, and that there is no real comparison between him and the one who is coming, because while he baptizes with water, the one who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The one who is coming will burn away the chaff. Luke summarizes John's ministry by saying, 'and with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news.' As I mentioned on Sunday as modern hearers we would be forgiven for expecting a winking emoticom, when Luke calls this good news. However, as we allow this text to sink in we realize that this is indeed good news. John is telling his hearers and us, that the one who is coming will be purifying us from our tendencies and actions that are anti-Kingdom(remember he is savior and will save his people from their sins). He will be fitting us to be agents of the eternal kingdom. He will free us from being shatterers of Shalom and purifying us so that we will be shalom-spreaders and kingdom-bringers. John is doing just what Isaiah had prophesied. He is preparing the way of the Lord. He is pointing to the one to come. May we be the people who hear John's message and prepare for our King. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33911 33911 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:04:00 +0000 Luke Chapter 2, is perhaps one of the most famous passages, in the most famous of all books, the Bible (and, in case I haven't mentioned this, the Bible is the number 1 best-selling book of all time, and also interestingly the number 1 shop-lifted book of all time). The danger for someone like me, who has been around Luke 2 and heard Luke 2 for most of my life, is that it will simply wash over me in a comforting flow of familiar words and images, and I will not let the passage surprise and confront me. So, I was very grateful for the opportunity to look at the passage outside of the Christmas season, and to work to hear it afresh and anew. The word of the angels grip me, 'Do not be afraid!' When angels show up in the glory of God, we humans need to hear, 'do not be afraid.' But, we need to hear this not only as angels appear, we need to hear this word from God at most moments of our life. The reason the angel says that the shepherds should not be afraid is because the angel brings 'good news of great joy.' The world then needed good news. The world today needs good news. The nightly news in general is not good news. The general message is not 'don't be afraid.' The underlying message in many ways is 'be afraid, or at a minimum carry around a low level anxiety.' What if the nightly news were different (Cal was right it was Anne Murray, and I apologize - it wasn't schmaltzy, I was right when I was a kid – this is a good song - well at least the desires expressed in the song are good – they are kingdom desires – and ok I will admit it - I still like the melody and folky feel). But, the desires expressed in this song just do not seem to happen. Shalom has been shattered. We need Shalom restored, we need saving. That is why the content of the Angelic announcement of good news is so crucial. The content of the good news is not just a vague wish for a better world, the news is concrete: 'in the town of David, a Savior has been born, who is Messiah, the Lord.' We didn't talk about this Sunday, but the Angel could have just said 'Bethlehem,' but instead says 'Town of David.' Remember David was the pinnacle of Israeli kingship, so it will be important as we go through the Luke to remember that Jesus is a rightful heir of David, and Jesus like David is a king, but as we go we will see what a different kind of King Jesus is. In David's town, a Savior has been born. Salvation has come to take on purely a religious and other worldly connotation. To these first Jewish hearers, Savior would have certainly stirred memories of the deliverer, Moses, who delivered the Hebrew people from the oppression of the Egyptian Pharoah and slave masters. These shepherds would have thought of their own current oppression, under the thumb of the Roman Caesar, Augustus, and his puppet King, Herod. But, there is a deeper bondage, than the bondage under Caesar or Pharaoh, there is the bondage of humanity to the enemy of our souls. Since, the garden and the shattering of Shalom, this has been true, whether we are on the upside or underside of human powers. The Savior will deliver from Rome, (though not how anyone would have guessed) but will first and much more importantly deliver from the enemy, and our own tendencies to collude with the enemy as we shatter shalom. We noted 'the who' Jesus saves – sinners. Sinners, it turns out as we read the Bible, are all of us. One of the big mistakes we will encounter religious people making as we read thru Luke – is that they will think that 'sinners' is a category separate from them, but the Bible is pretty clear it is them also. It turns out we have met the sinners and they are us. The 'what' the savior saves sinners from is first of all - sin. Sin, at its most basic means missing the mark. We miss the mark of being image bearers of the Living God, who desires perfect shalom for His good creation. Sin shatters Shalom. We need to be saved from our tendencies to shatter shalom. The Savior saves us from this, and then saves us from the effects of the shattering of Shalom – disease, social and personal, and death - to name a couple of the most obvious. So, we noted that as Jesus heals a woman who has been bleeding for years, that she has been 'saved' (this is the literal translation from the Greek – not healed as the NIV has it – but the NIV is right in this - being physically healed is an experience of salvation). Healing is a little taste of resurrection come early, and disease is a little taste of death come early. So we long for more tastes of the salvation of our God. One last thing to note in this already too long blog (speaking of too long – the talk itself bordered on being too long – so my Wednesday morning quarterbacking of the talk was that I made the fairly classic mistake of having too much information – it just all seemed so good – and I was so excited about it – I really loved getting into this text in April – I found it very powerful), is that the Savior saved us, is saving us, and will save us. In the New Testament all tenses of the verb are present. We can rightly say that we were saved, but while we say this we need also to say, we are being saved, and we will be saved. So brothers and sisters may you experience this good news of great joy and know this Savior, who is Christ, the Lord. His name is Jesus. Luke Chapter 2, is perhaps one of the most famous passages, in the most famous of all books, the Bible (and, in case I haven't mentioned this, the Bible is the number 1 best-selling book of all time, and also interestingly the number 1 shop-lifted book of all time). The danger for someone like me, who has been around Luke 2 and heard Luke 2 for most of my life, is that it will simply wash over me in a comforting flow of familiar words and images, and I will not let the passage surprise and confront me. So, I was very grateful for the opportunity to look at the passage outside of the Christmas season, and to work to hear it afresh and anew. The word of the angels grip me, 'Do not be afraid!' When angels show up in the glory of God, we humans need to hear, 'do not be afraid.' But, we need to hear this not only as angels appear, we need to hear this word from God at most moments of our life. The reason the angel says that the shepherds should not be afraid is because the angel brings 'good news of great joy.' The world then needed good news. The world today needs good news. The nightly news in general is not good news. The general message is not 'don't be afraid.' The underlying message in many ways is 'be afraid, or at a minimum carry around a low level anxiety.' What if the nightly news were different (Cal was right it was Anne Murray, and I apologize - it wasn't schmaltzy, I was right when I was a kid – this is a good song - well at least the desires expressed in the song are good – they are kingdom desires – and ok I will admit it - I still like the melody and folky feel). But, the desires expressed in this song just do not seem to happen. Shalom has been shattered. We need Shalom restored, we need saving. That is why the content of the Angelic announcement of good news is so crucial. The content of the good news is not just a vague wish for a better world, the news is concrete: 'in the town of David, a Savior has been born, who is Messiah, the Lord.' We didn't talk about this Sunday, but the Angel could have just said 'Bethlehem,' but instead says 'Town of David.' Remember David was the pinnacle of Israeli kingship, so it will be important as we go through the Luke to remember that Jesus is a rightful heir of David, and Jesus like David is a king, but as we go we will see what a different kind of King Jesus is. In David's town, a Savior has been born. Salvation has come to take on purely a religious and other worldly connotation. To these first Jewish hearers, Savior would have certainly stirred memories of the deliverer, Moses, who delivered the Hebrew people from the oppression of the Egyptian Pharoah and slave masters. These shepherds would have thought of their own current oppression, under the thumb of the Roman Caesar, Augustus, and his puppet King, Herod. But, there is a deeper bondage, than the bondage under Caesar or Pharaoh, there is the bondage of humanity to the enemy of our souls. Since, the garden and the shattering of Shalom, this has been true, whether we are on the upside or underside of human powers. The Savior will deliver from Rome, (though not how anyone would have guessed) but will first and much more importantly deliver from the enemy, and our own tendencies to collude with the enemy as we shatter shalom. We noted 'the who' Jesus saves – sinners. Sinners, it turns out as we read the Bible, are all of us. One of the big mistakes we will encounter religious people making as we read thru Luke – is that they will think that 'sinners' is a category separate from them, but the Bible is pretty clear it is them also. It turns out we have met the sinners and they are us. The 'what' the savior saves sinners from is first of all - sin. Sin, at its most basic means missing the mark. We miss the mark of being image bearers of the Living God, who desires perfect shalom for His good creation. Sin shatters Shalom. We need to be saved from our tendencies to shatter shalom. The Savior saves us from this, and then saves us from the effects of the shattering of Shalom – disease, social and personal, and death - to name a couple of the most obvious. So, we noted that as Jesus heals a woman who has been bleeding for years, that she has been 'saved' (this is the literal translation from the Greek – not healed as the NIV has it – but the NIV is right in this - being physically healed is an experience of salvation). Healing is a little taste of resurrection come early, and disease is a little taste of death come early. So we long for more tastes of the salvation of our God. One last thing to note in this already too long blog (speaking of too long – the talk itself bordered on being too long – so my Wednesday morning quarterbacking of the talk was that I made the fairly classic mistake of having too much information – it just all seemed so good – and I was so excited about it – I really loved getting into this text in April – I found it very powerful), is that the Savior saved us, is saving us, and will save us. In the New Testament all tenses of the verb are present. We can rightly say that we were saved, but while we say this we need also to say, we are being saved, and we will be saved. So brothers and sisters may you experience this good news of great joy and know this Savior, who is Christ, the Lord. His name is Jesus. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33769 33769 Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:01:00 +0000 Luke wrote an orderly narrative of the life of Jesus, so that his friend Theopholis would know the certainty of things he was taught. Luke sees the story of Jesus fulfilling a larger story. The larger story, the grand metanarrative of God, begins with God creating a good universe and commissioning humanity to act as co-regents imaging God to the rest of creation and each other. Humanity disastrously rebels against God's good design, and creation and humanity are plunged back into chaos. But, God does not give up on his good intentions for the creation and humanity. He begins the work of redemption. Luke says that with Jesus this story is fulfilled. God's intentions for humanity at creation are fulfilled in Jesus. In Jesus God reverses the effects of the fall, and in Jesus, God completes the work of redemption. The story line that is fulfilled in Jesus is: creation – fall – redemption. From this storyline a few themes emerge that we highlighted briefly on Sunday. The first is that the hero of the story always has , is, and will be God. God created and God redeems. From beginning to end the story tells of a heroic God. The second theme points to the reality of a battle for the destiny of the world. God created the world and humanity for good, but since the garden, the Bible pointedly bears witness to the presence of an enemy bent on killing, stealing and destroying. Third, the story of Scripture is of God the hero repeatedly calling out to humanity to partner with him in the work of redemption. More often than not, the people seem very unlikely candidates ( both to the world and themselves -Moses; Gideon; Deborah; Mary etc…) and are at least initially reluctant to answer God's call to the larger story. These are themes to bear in mind as we find our way into the story of Jesus. With the larger storyline in mind and the themes which flow from this storyline, we looked at Zachariah's prophetic song when the Holy Spirit fell on him after the birth of John. The first thing to note is that the song begins with blessing God and recalling God's faithfulness seen in the large and encompassing narrative of God. There will always be something lovely and good about beginning with blessing God, and these blessings take on particular power when we recall specific instances of God's faithfulness in our lives. Throughout history the people of God have begun and ended their days by blessing God. Zechariah then draws out themes of God's faithfulness, in bringing knowledge of salvation, and in showing mercy. Again the hero of this metanarrative is God. Then Zechariah calls his son John into the story. He will go before the Lord to prepare the people. John is being called into the grand metanarrative of God. Prophets call others to the story of God. Prophets call people to a story and a cause bigger than themselves. Prophets tell people they have a role in this great story. Now as we noted Sunday, many of us will have been told at different points that we really don't have much to contribute. Instead of being blessed and called into God's story by prophetic voices, we were given messages of discouragement. As we move forward with Jesus' Revolution, a cause and a story bigger than ourselves, may we truly be the people who will call others into the amazing story of our heroic Savior. Luke wrote an orderly narrative of the life of Jesus, so that his friend Theopholis would know the certainty of things he was taught. Luke sees the story of Jesus fulfilling a larger story. The larger story, the grand metanarrative of God, begins with God creating a good universe and commissioning humanity to act as co-regents imaging God to the rest of creation and each other. Humanity disastrously rebels against God's good design, and creation and humanity are plunged back into chaos. But, God does not give up on his good intentions for the creation and humanity. He begins the work of redemption. Luke says that with Jesus this story is fulfilled. God's intentions for humanity at creation are fulfilled in Jesus. In Jesus God reverses the effects of the fall, and in Jesus, God completes the work of redemption. The story line that is fulfilled in Jesus is: creation – fall – redemption. From this storyline a few themes emerge that we highlighted briefly on Sunday. The first is that the hero of the story always has , is, and will be God. God created and God redeems. From beginning to end the story tells of a heroic God. The second theme points to the reality of a battle for the destiny of the world. God created the world and humanity for good, but since the garden, the Bible pointedly bears witness to the presence of an enemy bent on killing, stealing and destroying. Third, the story of Scripture is of God the hero repeatedly calling out to humanity to partner with him in the work of redemption. More often than not, the people seem very unlikely candidates ( both to the world and themselves -Moses; Gideon; Deborah; Mary etc…) and are at least initially reluctant to answer God's call to the larger story. These are themes to bear in mind as we find our way into the story of Jesus. With the larger storyline in mind and the themes which flow from this storyline, we looked at Zachariah's prophetic song when the Holy Spirit fell on him after the birth of John. The first thing to note is that the song begins with blessing God and recalling God's faithfulness seen in the large and encompassing narrative of God. There will always be something lovely and good about beginning with blessing God, and these blessings take on particular power when we recall specific instances of God's faithfulness in our lives. Throughout history the people of God have begun and ended their days by blessing God. Zechariah then draws out themes of God's faithfulness, in bringing knowledge of salvation, and in showing mercy. Again the hero of this metanarrative is God. Then Zechariah calls his son John into the story. He will go before the Lord to prepare the people. John is being called into the grand metanarrative of God. Prophets call others to the story of God. Prophets call people to a story and a cause bigger than themselves. Prophets tell people they have a role in this great story. Now as we noted Sunday, many of us will have been told at different points that we really don't have much to contribute. Instead of being blessed and called into God's story by prophetic voices, we were given messages of discouragement. As we move forward with Jesus' Revolution, a cause and a story bigger than ourselves, may we truly be the people who will call others into the amazing story of our heroic Savior. http://www.vinesouth.com/index.cfm?i=2893&mid=25&blogid=4526&comments=33634 33634 Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:15:00 +0000