All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Monday, September 28, 2009
Story. Part 1
All In One Accord
This past Sunday we looked at 1 Samuel 8 and Acts 1.
In 1 Samuel 8 we heard Israel crying out for a king to rule them "like all the other nations." As God's people, we have a rich history of trying to dodge the responsibilities of relating to God ourselves and standing out among the nation(s) to draw people to God.
What if the way we approach church today reflects that dark past? What if we approach our church structure in such a way that we mimic the world, and find people to go to God on our behalf... instead of going to God all week long and standing out as a representative of Christ?!!!
In Acts 1 we catch a glimpse of Jesus' followers awaiting the baptism of the Holy Spirit after Jesus' ascension back into heaven... and even without this baptism... they were all in one accord... devoted to pray and wait on the Lord.
They hadn't received the Holy Spirit and yet they were of the same mind... devoted to prayer. Unfortunately that sounds like the exact opposite of many of our churches... but it doesn't have to!!!
Haven, let's spend the week in Christ's presence together! Although we may be miles apart, together we'll devote ourselves to prayer and to waiting on the Lord. And when we come to the building at 201 E. Samano, we'll have done "church" all week long. We'll gather together to build each other up and worship our Lord... we will hear and obey... and the world will know that Jesus Christ is Lord by our lives.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Gospel Presentations
We should be ready to give an account of the Gospel.
Your personal testimony is your best witness.
But it is a good thing to meditate on different ways of presenting the good news of Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection means for all mankind!
Remember... we are not trying to convince people about an idea... we are introducing them to a person. You have to know a person before you can introduce them to someone... You should be walking with Christ if you expect to introduce Him to someone!!!
The presentations in these videos are very probably not how you would present them to a friend. It is up to us to take the information and translate it to someone how they will receive it best.
And never forget... Walk in the Spirit. Follow Him. He is the one who calls, the one who saves, and the one who preserves. Trust the Holy Spirit to do the work in yourself and the other person.
Your personal testimony is your best witness.
But it is a good thing to meditate on different ways of presenting the good news of Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection means for all mankind!
Remember... we are not trying to convince people about an idea... we are introducing them to a person. You have to know a person before you can introduce them to someone... You should be walking with Christ if you expect to introduce Him to someone!!!
The presentations in these videos are very probably not how you would present them to a friend. It is up to us to take the information and translate it to someone how they will receive it best.
And never forget... Walk in the Spirit. Follow Him. He is the one who calls, the one who saves, and the one who preserves. Trust the Holy Spirit to do the work in yourself and the other person.
Web site for 3rd Gospel presentation - http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/
Last Wed. Finishing with love...
Well, even though we concluded our series on Love, I hope we aren't "finished with love." That would be to miss the point of the entire series.
Our conclusion was broad, but I'll try to narrow it here... and conclude with a video we made a few months back.
Love is an important concept. John (the Son of Thunder) says that God is love. Paul gives us an amazing look at Godly love in 1 Corinthians 13, and says in Romans 5 that God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
And Jesus said that the most important commandments are: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is important.
God is love. This is a tricky statement. It doesn't mean that we should think that God fits into our understanding of what love is. Here is what it means: God shows us what love is - and Godly love is life.
God shows us what love is by his very nature. God is One. God is Three. The Trinity is crazy!!! One God. Three persons. Perfect unity. God is relationship. God is love.
Godly love, then, is found in his nature... it is found in the Trinity. In the Trinity we find full individuality... the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, Neither the Father or the Son are the Spirit. But they are fully unified as only One God. They are not three gods. Yahweh is One God.
Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.
Humanity is created to be the image of God. Together, we are to represent God on Earth. We are supposed to be so unified, that we reflect God to the rest of creation. How far we have fallen from that unified image!!
We cannot regain that image without the unifying love of the Trinity governing our lives. Loving God means giving our identities to Him. Jesus is the Way to the Trinity's Unity. We give Christ our selves just as he gave himself for us on the cross. He preserves our individuality as we abandon our very selves into Him.
Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would all be one... even as he and the Father are one. He prayed that we would be in them even as they are in each other. Reality is about entering into the Unifying love of the Trinity... together.
Humanity will not do this... until YOU do this. Die to yourself. Love God. Love People.
Our conclusion was broad, but I'll try to narrow it here... and conclude with a video we made a few months back.
Love is an important concept. John (the Son of Thunder) says that God is love. Paul gives us an amazing look at Godly love in 1 Corinthians 13, and says in Romans 5 that God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
And Jesus said that the most important commandments are: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is important.
God is love. This is a tricky statement. It doesn't mean that we should think that God fits into our understanding of what love is. Here is what it means: God shows us what love is - and Godly love is life.
God shows us what love is by his very nature. God is One. God is Three. The Trinity is crazy!!! One God. Three persons. Perfect unity. God is relationship. God is love.
Godly love, then, is found in his nature... it is found in the Trinity. In the Trinity we find full individuality... the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, Neither the Father or the Son are the Spirit. But they are fully unified as only One God. They are not three gods. Yahweh is One God.
Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.
Humanity is created to be the image of God. Together, we are to represent God on Earth. We are supposed to be so unified, that we reflect God to the rest of creation. How far we have fallen from that unified image!!
We cannot regain that image without the unifying love of the Trinity governing our lives. Loving God means giving our identities to Him. Jesus is the Way to the Trinity's Unity. We give Christ our selves just as he gave himself for us on the cross. He preserves our individuality as we abandon our very selves into Him.
Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would all be one... even as he and the Father are one. He prayed that we would be in them even as they are in each other. Reality is about entering into the Unifying love of the Trinity... together.
Humanity will not do this... until YOU do this. Die to yourself. Love God. Love People.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Love Looks to Things Eternal
1 Corinthians 6:1-8
The Corinthians were taking each other to court over issues that should have been settled among their Christian brothers and sisters. These weren't cases of murder. These were cases of simple wrong doing... people being defrauded.
Paul appeals to them saying, "To have lawsuits is already a defeat for you... Don't you know that we are going to judge the world and the angels?!!"
The Corinthians were fighting over stuff. Paul tries to remind them about the eternal destiny that they now share as Christians. It's like he was saying... "We are going to judge the world with Christ, and you are going to fight with each other and go to the world's court against each other over little worldly things??!!!"
If we can remember to focus on eternal things... love, relationship, hope, peace, joy, kindness, self-control, gentleness, etc. we won't bother fighting over things that don't matter in the long run.
Love has an eternal perspective.
That is why Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame... for the joy set before him... he endured it. Though all the wisdom of the world would call Jesus to call upon the same power he used to create the world to defend himself... he had every RIGHT in the world to do so... but he wasn't focused on his immediate reputation or comfort... he was looking to eternal things... to the Joy set before him... to the salvation he was spreading... to his love for his father and for us.
The Corinthians were taking each other to court over issues that should have been settled among their Christian brothers and sisters. These weren't cases of murder. These were cases of simple wrong doing... people being defrauded.
Paul appeals to them saying, "To have lawsuits is already a defeat for you... Don't you know that we are going to judge the world and the angels?!!"
The Corinthians were fighting over stuff. Paul tries to remind them about the eternal destiny that they now share as Christians. It's like he was saying... "We are going to judge the world with Christ, and you are going to fight with each other and go to the world's court against each other over little worldly things??!!!"
If we can remember to focus on eternal things... love, relationship, hope, peace, joy, kindness, self-control, gentleness, etc. we won't bother fighting over things that don't matter in the long run.
Love has an eternal perspective.
That is why Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame... for the joy set before him... he endured it. Though all the wisdom of the world would call Jesus to call upon the same power he used to create the world to defend himself... he had every RIGHT in the world to do so... but he wasn't focused on his immediate reputation or comfort... he was looking to eternal things... to the Joy set before him... to the salvation he was spreading... to his love for his father and for us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
