GCI Equipper

The Incarnation and Me … and You

Christmas is referred to as the season of joy, hope, peace, and love, and it is all that, but it’s also more. The incarnation is the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise.

In most Bible translations, the apostle John starts his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning…” This is where we must start when we talk about the incarnation. God becoming flesh was always part of God’s plan of redemption, reconciliation, and revelation. John has more to say:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  (John 1:1-4 NRSVUE)

There is a lot more to this section of Scripture than we might first believe. John is reminding us that the Word is the Creator by whom all things are made. The Creator – the Word – is God. He is the eternal Word who has always existed. And this Word brought life to humanity. He gave us our original life, and he gives us eternal life. He is the light of all people – the one we look to who brings us out of our darkness, out of the fallen nature we live in.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NRSVUE)

The eternal Word, who was with God and who was God, becomes part of his creation without ever ceasing to be part of his own eternity. He takes his dwelling as man among humanity. He became flesh and met us as man. T.F. Torrance expounds this point in his book, Incarnation:

The Word fully participates in human nature and existence, for he became man in becoming flesh, true and real man. He was so truly man in the midst of mankind that it was not easy to recognize him as other than man or to distinguish him from other men. He came to his own and his own received him not. He became a particular man, Jesus, who stands among other men unsurpassed, but unrecognized. That is the way he became flesh, by becoming one particular man. And yet this is the creator of all mankind, now himself become a man. (Incarnation, p. 61)

It’s amazing to think of the Word of God becoming a particular man, as Torrance says, “unsurpassed, but unrecognized.” This is the Son of God who loves you; this is the Word who created you to be loved. This is the One who planned from the beginning of creation to redeem you, restore you, reconcile you, and reveal to you who he is and who you are in him.

GCI President Greg Williams shares this thought:

The painters throughout history didn’t get it. Jesus really became human and rubbed shoulders with flesh and blood brothers and sisters. He wasn’t this other-worldly being – isolated in a crowd – with a halo over his head. Somehow with us, but not. Unapproachable, untouchable, and mystic. We celebrate the incarnation because Jesus did become one of us. He moved into our neighborhood. 

John was intentional in his use of “Word” to describe God. Torrance says John is referring to the Old Testament tabernacle – the tent of meeting which moved whenever Israel moved. This was the place where God and man met and where God revealed himself to man. The Word tabernacled with humanity as they roamed through the desert.

The word that was hidden in the bosom of God, the word through which all things were made has become flesh, has tabernacled among men and women, and we see its grace and truth. It has become a man in Jesus Christ… Jesus Christ himself is the tabernacle of God among men and women, himself the Word of God enshrined in the flesh, and in him that the glory of God is to be seen. (p. 60)

When John emphasized that the Word was with God and was God and this Word became flesh, he is emphasizing what is extraordinary about the incarnation. God became flesh to redeem the very flesh that he created. One author likened it to God taking off his robe of light and putting on pigmented human skin. But he did more than that. He became the zygote, the embryo, the fetus, the child in the womb. He assumed all of humanity – from our very beginning. He entered the Fall, he came among estranged humanity, he took our lost condition upon himself so that he could redeem it, restore it, and reconcile it. He did this through judgment, mercy, and grace. Torrance describes it this way:

It is a movement of revelation through the Word of God, in which the Son of God came as Word of God, humbling himself to man’s lowly estate, donning the beggar’s garment, and assuming the beggar’s existence as his own, in order to persuade the beggar that God the Father was in earnest about forgiving him, and in order at the same time to enact that word of revealed forgiveness in actual pardon and reconciliation. (p. 77)

In the incarnation, God forgave, redeemed, and reconciled with the beggar by fulfilling his promise to live in covenant with us for eternity. He took our rebellious nature upon himself to give us reconciliation by his perfect obedience. Here is how Torrance describes this:

He comes as God the Word to enter into our darkness and blindness in order to effect revelation – revealing to us the love of God. This is not two acts, but one. Reconciliation is part of revelation and revelation is part of reconciliation. In these two acts, God fulfills his covenant with us: “I will be your God, your Father,” and he fulfills our covenant with him, “I will be your obedient child.” This is the mighty act of the incarnation. (p, 57)

This act of grace was the humbling of God (Philippians 2), and the exaltation of humanity; it is what elevated humanity into union and communion in the life of the Father, Son, and Spirit. I don’t believe we can ever fully grasp the significance of the incarnation and what it means to us.

In fact, we need to think of the incarnation as part of Jesus’ atonement, and the atonement as part of the incarnation. We cannot separate what Jesus did from who he is. Even as we celebrate his birth in Bethlehem, we look forward to the atonement. The birth is the beginning of his incarnate person – it is at one end of his work as a human, and the resurrection and ascension are at the other end. He was resurrected still in his incarnate state, and he ascended in his incarnate state.

This is what takes place in the incarnation. God not only fulfils his promise to live in covenant with us by giving himself to humanity in complete and utter grace, but he also fulfills our side of the covenant by being perfectly obedient. He is the gift of himself to us, so that we could be reconciled to the Father.

As we reflect on the incarnation and begin the Christmas season, let’s remind ourselves of the greatest gift God could give us, himself, and let’s confess that Jesus is Lord.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name, so that at the name given to Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2:5-11 NRSVUE)

May God help you rejoice as you see the incarnation was and is for you.

Rick Shallenberger
Editor

The Gifts of the Magi

The gifts of the Magi not only had significance, but they were also part of God’s provision for Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

By Daphne Sydney, Superintendent Australasia

The Gospel of Matthew is the only Gospel which contains the intriguing account of the Magi or “Wise Men” coming from the east to honour the birth of a King. The Magi were on a journey. What may we learn from their journey and what was the significance of the gifts they brought to bestow on a King?

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2).

Notice that the Magi acknowledge the kingship of the child from birth and that he was Jewish – amazingly of a small and seemingly insignificant sub-group of peoples in the greater Roman empire; and they have come to worship him.

Coming from the East relative to Jerusalem meant coming from Gentile lands. As one author notes:

Any Christian living in Rome…would naturally think of the East as Persia, and indeed the word Magi in Greek literature does refer to people from Babylonia or Parthia[1]” We don’t particularly know the social status of the Magi but they must have been of some standing as they were drawn to go and visit a new-born king, bearing expensive gifts, and they also gained an audience with King Herod on the way.[2]

Gentile dignitaries coming to worship the King of the Jews, can be analogous to the days of Solomon when the Queen of Sheba came to bring gifts to Solomon, the son of David. Perhaps her journey to David was a prelude to the Magi who brought gifts to Jesus, the Son of David. Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60 allude to Gentile kings coming to worship and the bringing of gifts, as was the custom of the ancient East when approaching a superior.

May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. May all Kings bow down to him and all nations serve him. (Psalm 72:10-11)

Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. (Psalm 72:17)

It is interesting to note that as the star finally stopped over the very place they had been seeking, their first response was one of great joy.

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. (Matthew 2:10-11a)

This is reminiscent of our first love when we discover Jesus, and we are so filled with joy that we want to spend time in worship and praise, and we are overjoyed to bring and offer whatever we have. Worship is such an integral part of expressing joy. Worship entails giving honour and bestowing our best gifts on the one who is worthy, in joyful thanksgiving and praise.

As one commentary highlights:

The worship of the Magi when they found the baby Jesus was characterized by three features: first, joy such as we see in the Old Testament when kings ascended to their thrones (Solomon – I Kings 1:40, 2 Kgs 11:20); second, humility as they bowed down before the baby, aware that he was a great king; and third, presentation of some of the costliest gifts of the day: gold, incense and myrrh… Worship is the only fitting response to God’s revelation, and it should be characterized by joy and lavish gifts to him.[3]

They worshipped Jesus and as part of their homage, brought out their gifts fit for a King:

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. (Matthew 2:11b)

The opening of their treasures reflects how we open our hearts towards someone we love and want to honour. Their first gift was gold. Gold is regarded as the highest quality and most valuable gift we can offer someone. When we give jewelry as a gift, perhaps a gold ring or bracelet, we first check the carat of gold – the measurement of its purity. Giving pure gold is symbolically the highest form of honour, admiration, respect, veneration, esteem, all of which is fitting for a King. The gold may be seen as a reflection of Jesus’ royalty.

Frankincense was the next gift they drew from their treasures. This was an expensive perfume coming from trees in India and Arabia, an ingredient in making a fragrant blend of incense for use in the temple (Exodus 30:34-37), a meeting place with God. Some understand this to be representational of Christ as our High Priest and intercessor today. Serving in the temple is described as a shadow or copy of what is in heaven (Hebrews 8:5), and we have Jesus Christ, our High Priest, who sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven and who intercedes with prayers for us today (Hebrews 8:1-2).

Myrrh is an embalming herb made from rare bushes found in Arabia and Ethiopia. It is used in preparing the dead for burial; thus it is natural to link the significance of the myrrh to the death and burial of our Lord Jesus. So, the myrrh is said to reflect the humanity of Jesus. That is, his birth, death, and resurrection – his victory over death to bring the ultimate gift of eternal life.

Shortly after the Magi left, God appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety. You can’t help but wonder if Joseph wondered how he could afford such a trip, when his eyes fell on the gifts of these Magi. God had already provided for their journey and stay in Egypt.

The Magi have set quite a remarkable example before us. First in their courage and determination to take up this long journey from the East. It must have been a journey of faith as they simply followed the light of the star, not knowing it was going to land them upon a humble home in the humble town of Bethlehem. They expressed great joy at meeting the King, they bowed in humility and lavished praise and worship with costly gifts on this King. They honoured the King, who we know today is the King of all Kings and for all peoples of the earth, for all ages, now and forevermore.

Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen (Psalm 72:19)

[1] Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, p.52
[2] France, R T The Gospel of Matthew NIV Commentary on the NT 2007
[3] Africa Bible Commentary p.1137

What to Do?

Recognizing we are all products of the Fall keeps us focused on love, rather than judgment.

By Bill Hall, National Director, Canada

Without a doubt we live in very trying times. As Christians and for Canadians (you can add your nationality) in general, we face an onslaught of what I would call “change.” And much of it is challenging to us as believers.

Where I reside, in the province of Saskatchewan, we are dealing with the legacy of church-run residential schools, and Indigenous rights. In Canadian society and elsewhere, we face issues dealing with gender identity and the pronouns we use to describe who we are. There are also issues for some around immigration, and what it means to be Canadian. Then add all the conversations around COVID and human rights.

It makes me want to push back and try to influence those around me both churched and unchurched to move back to a saner, (some would say Biblical) and recognizable place where “right is right” and “wrong is wrong.” I just want to go back to the “good old days” when the church had more influence in my society.

But I need to be careful taking this approach. It can be a big distraction that can consume me to the point where I neglect my purpose as a follower of Jesus, which is to live and share the gospel.

And what does the gospel tell us? Why did Jesus come?

It tells us that all people are fallen and affected by the fall (yes, including Christians). All of us can only be brought back by the love of God through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Our identity can only be found in Jesus. He is the “true human” to which all other people can never compare. And finally, the triune God’s ultimate purpose for all of us is to be in relationship with him.

It is not the role of me as a Christian to try to fix what I cannot fix, and I am not called to point out people’s sins to them. There is a reason Jesus told his disciples that we are of a different kingdom.

And if I get into the mindset of longing for the “good old days” when the church had more influence in society, all I have to do is examine what happened back then.

There were times when the church participated in the removal of Indigenous children from their families to Canadianize them. In other places, there were segments of the church that supported slavery or colonialism because those who were different were not on the same plane of existence as those in charge.

The other day, I read this passage in Philippians that helped me to understand the approach I need to consider:

Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

How can I ever value others above myself, to be a light for God’s kingdom, when I do not realize that I need to point to the light that has been shown to me? That only in Jesus can we all have true healing, repentance, and restoration.

I need that message to avoid being distracted!

Spiritual Practices for the Season of Christmas and Epiphany

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG).

By Davina Winn, Assistant Pastor, Hanover, VA

Ok, cue the music. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” That is unless you happen to live on my street where Christmas hits our neighborhood around the first week in September. Our neighbor, two houses over, is a regular on the local “Christmas Tacky Lights Tour,” and each year his elaborate winter wonderland decorations seem to start earlier and appear to edge closer into the neighboring yards with more lights, more games, and at least one more large plastic blow mold. Naturally, any good Christmas décor would be incomplete without a giant countdown clock heralding how many more days until Christmas. You would think with this daily reminder I would be a little more prepared for the holiday season, but alas my mental Christmas list remains unchecked. I still have travel plans to finalize, gifts to buy, Christmas cards to send, cookies to bake, a house to clean (and possibly decorate), a secret Santa exchange to organize, an ugly Christmas sweater to locate, and when, oh, when was that office Christmas party again? Don’t get me wrong, I love this season. It just always seems like my already busy life gets even busier during Christmas.

Obviously, staying busy is not a sin, but it can be a distraction that causes us to lose sight of the true meaning of this sacred season. For Christians, it is about intentionally taking the time to celebrate and share the joy of Jesus Christ, God with us in the flesh. Yet, on some level, it seems that even non-believers pause to spend time with family and friends and at least acknowledge the “Christmas Spirit” of giving and goodwill towards men. So how can we, as Christians, slow down and connect with God on a more profound and intimate level?

I would like to introduce you to the spiritual practice of “Lectio Divina” which translates as “divine or sacred reading.” Lectio Divina is an ancient approach to reading the scriptures while intentionally listening for the voice of God. While most of us are used to reading scripture for information, Lectio Divina invites us to encounter Jesus in the text for the purpose of relational transformation. The Bible says that the “Word of God is alive and active,” a clear reference to Jesus as the living Word of God, and Lectio Divina assumes that God is inviting us into interaction and conversation as we read the written words of God.

There are four different movements associated with this practice:

  1. Lectio (reading/listening) Slowly read the text aloud.
  2. Meditatio (meditation/reflection) Meditate on the word or phrase that captures your attention.
  3. Oratio (prayer/response) Open your heart to God and pray.
  4. Contemplatio (contemplation/rest) Quietly sit in the presence of the Father and rest in his arms.

Lectio Divina can be done alone or in a group. For the purpose of this exercise, you will be guided through an actual Lectio Divina exercise as if you are by yourself.

Before you start, make sure you are sitting comfortably. Begin to breathe slowly in and out. With your eyes closed, let your body relax and allow yourself to become consciously aware of God’s presence with you. Quietly let go of any distractions and ask God to speak to you through the passage that you are about to read.

Lectio Divina exercise

Step One: Read

Read Luke 1:26-38 slowly, out loud if possible. Read the passage a couple of times. Notice any words or phrases that seem to jump out at you. Don’t analyze the text, just let it sink in. Are you drawn to any images or characters in the story? Don’t feel rushed, linger in the story, and be open to any gentle nudges. Quietly listen for the still, small voice of God. What word or phrase is your attention being drawn to?

Step Two: Reflect

As you read the passage again, allow God’s word to become his personal word for you. The Gospel of Luke mentions Mary’s humble response, “Let it be to me according to your word.”  Consider how your response to God might intersect with your life right now. Here are a few reflection questions:

  • What is God showing you about yourself?
  • How does this relate to something in your life today?
  • What is God saying to you?
  • Are there any distractions that God is highlighting for you today?
  • What is the “one thing” that Jesus says is needed?

Step Three: Respond

Take a few minutes to respond to God in prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with the God who loves you and likes you, no matter what. What do you want to say to God about this experience reading scripture? Talk to God about what bubbled up for you and how you sense he might be inviting you to act or respond to the word you have heard. You are free to allow your real, authentic self to be touched and changed by the word of God. Some find it beneficial to journal their response during this process.

Step Four: Rest

The last step offers space to rest and wait in the presence of the Lord. This is not about doing, this is abiding. Simply rest in the presence of God. Lay down all the insights, words, and images you’ve encountered and simply dwell in the presence of God. This is a time to absorb God’s gentle grace and allow God to do the life-changing work in you. Sense God’s love flowing effortlessly through you. You may close with a prayer thanking God for his willingness to open up the scripture for you, enabling you to better understand your life in Christ.

Participating in Lectio Divina during this sometimes busy and chaotic season of Christmas in which we celebrate the fulfilled promise of a Savior born among us, followed by the feast of Epiphany where we rejoice in the proclamation and revelation of who Jesus really is, gives us time to pause and commune with God. This is vital when you find yourself “distracted by all the preparations that have to be made.

At the heart of Lectio Divina is a dynamic relationship between God and you, his beloved. The Father, Son, and Spirit invite you to participate in their dance and discover this deep spiritual practice within the daily rhythms of your life.

May God bless you with real rest as you make space to commune with him through scripture and come to know God more fully and more intimately.

Following are some suggested Lectio Divina passages for Christmas and Epiphany:

  • John 1:1-14 (The incarnation)
  • Luke 1:26-30 (Gabriel visits Mary)
  • Luke 1:30-45 (Mary visits Elizabeth)
  • Luke 1:46-55 (Mary’s song – The Magnificat)
  • Matthew 1”10-23 (Joseph’s reaction and dream)
  • Luke 2:1-14 (A Savior is born for us)
  • Luke 2:15-20 (Shepherds rejoice)
  • Luke 2:22-38 (Simeon and Anna respond to Jesus)
  • Matthew 2:1-12 (The Magi from the East)
  • Matthew 2:13-23 (To Egypt and back)
  • Luke 2:41-52 (Young Jesus at the temple)
  • Matthew 3:13-17 (The baptism of Jesus)

 

Recommended Resources:

Benner, David G. Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer. IVP, an Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2021.

Hall, Thelma. Too Deep for Words Rediscovering Lectio Divina; with 500 Scripture Texts for Prayer. Paulist Pr, 1988.

Johnson, Jan. Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-on Guide to Lectio Divina. IVP Books, an Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2016.

Johnson, Jan. When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer. NavPress, 2017.

Church Hack – QR Codes

QR Codes can help streamline the process of both giving and receiving information.

In this month’s Church Hack, we will share a few examples of how churches can benefit from QR Codes, including ways to enhance neighborhood engagement, portions of your worship gathering, and many other aspects of your church life. They are a cost-effective way to help keep your church connected and engaged.

https://resources.gci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-CH11-QR-Codes.pdf

Place-sharing Testimonials & Panel

Listen to Anthony Mullins as he shares how he experienced Christ through place-sharing.

Listen to Elizabeth Mullins as she talks about how she has experienced place-sharing and how we can place-share in our circles.


Tune in as Cara Garrity talks with Elizabeth Mullins, Tamar Gray, and Dishon Mills. Together they discuss how place-sharing has been transformational in their respective lives.

 

The Blessing of a Helpless Baby

Even before he could say a word, Jesus was transforming lives.

This month, Christians from around the world will be celebrating Advent and Christmas. As believers, we rejoice in the coming of our Lord and Savior, marveling at the humble arrival of the King of Kings. Jesus not only came to earth as one of us, but he arrived as a helpless baby. It goes against all human logic for God to lower himself in that way. Yet, Jesus became one of us in every way to open the door for us to be like him.

During this time of year, we have an opportunity to meditate on the fact that, by the Spirit, Jesus had a profound impact on those around him without being able to talk. It was not only Christ’s ministry that changed lives, but it was also his presence. While he was an infant, he began to change the lives of those around him. In the first two chapters of Luke, the Gospel writer zooms in on several stories of encounters with Jesus before he could say or do anything. One example is in Luke 2:

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:15-18)

After seeing a host of angels praising the arrival of Christ, the shepherds saw baby Jesus lying in the manger. They were transformed into some of the first human evangelists, spreading the good news about the coming of the Lord. Jesus did not say anything, but he was transforming lives from the moment of his arrival.

The birth of your young ones might not have been announced by a heavenly chorus, but their arrival in this world is still a miracle of God. They were not born the Messiah, yet God is actively at work in their lives. Therefore, as we participate in the work of the Holy Spirit to make Christ known to our young people, God will make himself known to us in new ways. As we see God moving in the lives of our little ones, we will encounter him in ways we have not before. The question is, as those who care for children and youth, do we expect God to transform us through our young people? Do we expect to be spiritually formed as we disciple the younger members of the church?

Caring for the spiritual health of children and youth can teach us so much about God. Too often, adults see the learning in adult/child relationships only flowing in one direction — from the adult to the child. It is true that in adult/child relationships learning flows in one direction, but not in the way we might expect. Learning flows from Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to the adult and child as they place-share. Creating spaces where adults and children can learn Christ together starts with expectant prayer. It is good to pray for the needs and spiritual health of our young people. Added to that, we should pray for God to reveal what he is doing in that child’s life, how we might participate, and for God to transform us as we place-share. Not only is this prayer a way for us to be Spirit-led, but it also expects transformation. This expectation of transformation brings vivacity to discipleship efforts and keeps the focus on Christ.

The next time we look at our children and youth, let us remember the transformational power of the infant Jesus. That same Jesus is working in the lives of our young ones. Our service and care for young people can have a big impact on us and make us more like Jesus. Let Christmas remind us that little ones can make a big impact.

Dishon Mills
U.S. Generations Ministry Coordinator

Gospel Reverb – Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz

Video unavailable (video not checked).

Listen in as Pastor Julie Frantz joins host, Anthony Mullins, to unpack the lectionary passages for January 2023. Julie is the pastor of not one but two Grace Communion International congregations in Cincinnati, Ohio.


January 1 – First Sunday after Christmas
Revelation 21:1-6a, “Making Everything New”
6:41

January 8 – First Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 3:13-17, “I Am Well Pleased”
13:41

January 15 – Second Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 1:1-9, “Grace and Peace”
20:54

January 22 – Third Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 1:10-18, “The Foolishness of Christ”
30:07

January 29 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 5:1-12, “Blessed”
42:29


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Program Transcript


Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz

Welcome to the Gospel Reverb podcast. Gospel Reverb is an audio gathering for preachers, teachers, and Bible thrill seekers. Each month, our host, Anthony Mullins, will interview a new guest to gain insights and preaching nuggets mined from select passages of scripture, and that month’s Revised Common Lectionary.

The podcast’s passion is to proclaim and boast in Jesus Christ, the one who reveals the heart of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And now onto the episode.


Anthony: Hello, friends and welcome to the latest episode of Gospel Reverb. Gospel Reverb is a podcast devoted to bringing you insights from Scripture found in the Revised Common Lectionary and sharing commentary from a Christ-centered and Trinitarian view.

I’m your host Anthony Mullins, and I’m delighted to welcome this month’s guest, Pastor Julie Frantz. Julie is the pastor of not one, but two Grace Communion International congregations in Cincinnati, Ohio. She’s a wife, mother of four children, and the friend of many who know her.

Now, Julie, I’ve got to ask you before we go any further, since you live in Ohio. Are you a fan of Skyline Chili?

And know this before you answer, there’s only one right answer. So, what is your response?

Julie: Anthony, I’m a southwest girl and so there’s only one kind of chili, and it’s got spice. And it’s not stuff that goes over the top of spaghetti.

Anthony: Yes, right answer. So, this is going to be a fantastic podcast.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome to the podcast, and for those in our listening audience who may not be familiar with you, your family, and your work in Christ’s ministry, we’d like to know you. So, tell us a little bit about your story.

Julie: My life is comprised of a faithful God who has constantly brought opportunity for me to know him and to join him.

And so, I feel like my whole life I’ve known Christ at different levels, and it’s like I get to go deeper as the years go. I was very fortunate and blessed to meet my husband at camp, and we were sharing the same passion for our life of living a life of ministry, a life in service to Christ.

And early on in our marriage, he began the journey of full-time ministry with GCI, and I was very excited to join him and help him in that and walk alongside him. And so that really is where I began learning a lot about pastoral ministry. I had the ability to travel with him on most of his trips and join him in the training and the classes that he took.

We used a lot of our evenings to just discuss and talk about theology and talk about what if this is true about God? What does that look like? And those were just like training years for me. Those were years where I see the Spirit molding my heart and creating in me a heart for his people and a heart to join him in something more than what I was doing at that time.

Several years ago, I was part of a prayer walk and journey that was several days long, and it was during that time that I really received that calling to join Christ in pastoral ministry. I came home and told my husband about it, and I naturally assumed that meant I would step up and help him in a greater degree.

Little did I know about six months later I would be entering pastoral ministry as a lead pastor at one of the GCI Cincinnati churches. And that’s where my journey began as a pastor. And it’s been wonderful. God is gracious and he is faithful along the entire path. And I am profoundly thankful for that.

And it’s been wonderful because we’ve been able to share life as family and life in ministry as family. And that’s been a blessing that means so much to me. And I think God just lets us do that because he can. And so, I’m very thankful for that.

Along the way, Jason and I had four amazing kids, and their ages are 18, 16, 13 and 7. I like my seven-year-old the most. She’s the only one who’s not a teenager. I’m just joking with that.

Yeah, it’s really amazing to be in the position where your adult child is making adult decisions and you’re seeing the freedom of choice. And, I want to have this conversation with God like, I so greatly appreciate your love and free will that you give us, but could you not give it to this one? That’s that moment as a mom, sometimes that’s tough. But no, it’s it is truly a blessing to trust God in the life of your kids. And to journey that with him.

Having teenagers has been a spiritual journey for me. But a very good one.

Anthony: Yeah. I think every parent—I shouldn’t say that—but most parents come to this place, especially those who believe in our triune God, that God truly loves our kids more than we do, and that seems impossible on some level, but it’s true, and we trust them to his care. Hallelujah. Praise God that he won’t ever abandon them at any point in that journey.

But it’s such a blessing to know, not only as a friend, but a colleague in pastoral ministry in this shared denomination. Welcome.

Friends, it’s that time. We have five Bible passages that we’re going to unpack together.

Revelation 21:1-6a                                        Making Everything New

Matthew 3:13-17                                           I Am Well Pleased

1 Corinthians 1:1-9                                       Grace and Peace

1 Corinthians 1:10-18                                  The Foolishness of Christ

Matthew 5:1-12                                              Blessed

I’ll be reading from the New International Version. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for the first Sunday after Christmas on January the 1st.

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

What a beautiful passage! “I am making everything new.” It is a bold heralding of the gospel in verse 5, and I’m drawn, Julie, to the fact that God doesn’t say he’s making new things, but rather he’s making all things new. He is restoring and renewing what already exists in his good creation.

So, what should this proclamation do to how we live and share the gospel?

Julie: This is a proclamation of: behold, there is an assured hope in Christ. This is a moment of don’t lose your faith.

If I could go back to Luke 22 with Jesus is at the table with Peter, and Peter is told that he’s going to reject Jesus. He’s going to deny him, and this is very scary news to Peter. And Jesus shares with Peter that he’s said a prayer for him, a prayer that Peter would not lose his faith.

And, I see in this passage here, there is great tribulation. There is great trials and persecution that we’ve read about previously in Revelation. And this is that moment of don’t lose your faith. Contrary to what we can see in this moment, despite the evidence of great evil, there is great hope for the people of God.

NT Wright says this is the moment of bringing all creation to redeemed and fruitful life. God is truly in charge of history, and he has the final word, and what does he say? I am making everything new. This is a profound moment for us to stand in the reality of who God is, who has the final say and his final say is, I’m making everything new.

Hebrews 10:23 reminds us. It says, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

So, it is in the spirit of great hope, in the spirit of standing before a God who says, I’m making all new. That’s my say. I’ve got the final say here. That’s my say. We stand in the confidence of that, and the hope of Christ presented before us in the scripture.

Anthony: Hallelujah. Praise God. He gets the last word. And he had the first word and he said it was good. And now look, I’m returning it to its goodness. Thank God for his final word. And we stand in that hope.

And I don’t know your experience, Julie, but I have found pastoral ministry, many things, but often it’s dealing with people’s suffering. It’s entering into that, as Jesus has truly—in his humanity and by the Spirit—enters into our suffering.

And it says, it gives us this hopeful statement, that he will wipe away every tear. There’ll be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. Ah! Wow.

What a reality to consider and something to look forward to. But what are your thoughts?

Julie: The sacrificed Lamb declares victory, eternal victory over evil and death of this world. It’s done. It’s finished. We hear John the Baptist, his declaration, behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

We stand in that place. Of beholding God, the Lamb, who has done all needed. This is the, IT IS FINISHED. All caps. Exclamation point. Exclamation point. This is that moment that we’ve hoped for, the moment that it’s done and we’re in him. It’s completed and eternal life, eternal victory in Christ.

We see the story behind the story: Jesus, the beginning, the source of all things and the end, the completion. The one who brings that full-term. And we get to see this, and we get to see that final score, and we get to see Jesus wins. That’s a good victory.

Anthony: Yeah. Amen to that. And you know this pericope ends with this line that you can get spring water of his water of life, and it hearkens back to Isaiah where, come and eat and drink and it’s free. And this just this lavishness of grace. What an amazing passage to behold, as you started out.

Let’s transition to our next passage, which is Matthew 3:13-17 [NIV]. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for the baptism of our Lord, which is on January the 8th.

Julie, would you read it for us please?

Julie: Yes. Starting in verse 13,

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Anthony: So, Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness according to this passage. So how should this bless us personally, if at all, and bless those that we share the gospel with?

Julie: We have to remember that in his incarnation, Jesus immersed us into our world, and he reveals a God with us.

In his baptism, humanity is included and immersed into his world where he is our representative. He is the one who responds perfectly to the love of the Father. The weight of being righteous is not ours to bear.

The blessedness of that, the blessedness of Jesus on our behalf has stood in our place. He has included us in his faithfulness. I would call this blessed assurance.

Anthony: Right on. And it says that God the Father, loves and is pleased with God the Son. I think all of us want to hear that, right? That God loves us and is pleased with us.

So let me ask you this. Are we just bystanders to this love relationship? Or participants in some way, whether we recognize it or not? And should the water baptism of Jesus lead us to baptism?

Julie: There’s some things going on in this scripture that’s really incredible. They have sat there and the people on the shore have witnessed people being baptized, and they’re observing this from a distance. And then they themselves are going in and being baptized.

And here we have John—he’s recognizing Jesus standing before him and he is not following a hundred percent why Jesus is wanting to be baptized here in this moment. And it’s in this baptism of Christ that we see that atoning relationship. It’s where we no longer are bystanders.

The one who takes us into his own divine life brings us into perfect communion with Father, Son, and Spirit.

Yeah, and go ahead. I’m sorry.

Anthony: Can you speak to that communion? I’ve heard a theologian once say jokingly, but to make a point that, in this passage we see the Trinity, but the Trinity is not just two guys and a bird. There’s so much more going on.

Can you talk about the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit and how we are in any way connected to it?

Julie: We’re connected to it by grace alone, by what Jesus has done on our behalf. Creation was created out of love. The Father, Son, and Spirit relationship of God says, let us create, let us do this.

And then they celebrate. It’s a celebration of what has occurred within that relationship; this creation that God declares joy over. And we have a relationship where it is for the Father that Jesus acts, he acts in response to the Father.

They’re constantly feeding one another, responding to one another, constantly that other focus. It’s really interesting. It’s a very giving love that is seeking to love, that is seeking to be, that is seeking to know.

And Jesus lays down himself that we can be included in that. So, he seeks that we would know him, other-focused, lays himself down that we would experience that perfect communion with Father. With a Father who says, I love you. A father who says, it is you that I am well pleased.

And it’s just a really beautiful moment and I think of the sacraments of baptism. There’s a book; it’s titled, In Faith Seeking Understanding, and it’s written by Daniel Migliore. And he describes the sacraments as embodiments of grace and goes on to say that “they are palpable enactments of the gospel by means of which the Spirit of God confirms to us the forgiving, renewing, and promising love of God in Jesus Christ and enlivens us in faith, hope, and love.”

This relationship of promise and love and faithfulness and grace, and mercy and forgiveness and renewing. I don’t know that there are enough words to describe this relationship of God, but I think those are some pretty good ones.

Anthony: They are. And all of our God-talk, our words about God, they’re an approximation, right? We just do the best we can, but those are very good words to express the reality of Father, Son, and Spirit and our participation in that, including baptism, which is just a beautiful expression of the gift of faith that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s move on to our next passage, which is 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for the second Sunday after the Epiphany, which is on January the 15th.

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Grace and peace, Julie. It’s a common salutation for Paul the Apostle, but common things sometimes can lose their meaning as we move through this experience called human life.

Should we slow down maybe for a moment and consider this greeting and what’s contained within it? What would you say?

Julie: I think that it takes me back to Acts where Paul first goes to Corinth and where he encounters the Jewish people and the synagogue. And he’s preaching the gospel; he’s sharing the transformation of Christ. And he’s doing all this and there’s just a rejection.

They’re just unwilling to hear and unwilling to respond to that. And so, to these Jewish people, he’s, hey, I’m going to move on to the Gentiles because you guys aren’t willing to hear this.

And so, when I see this greeting, we have the Greek word for grace, and then we have the Jewish word of shalom or peace. And it just makes me wonder on that connection. You know who Paul is speaking to. You’ve got Jews and Gentiles and Corinth, and I see Paul uniting. He’s calling to these people who maybe would not otherwise be united—would not be, I said may not, would not be united otherwise.

And he’s uniting them in a greeting, under the love of God. In his greeting, he puts God and Jesus right there together. He’s declaring they are God, and his way that he addresses Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ. Fully God, fully man and the Messiah. Let’s not forget that.

He’s reminding them who God has made them to be. This is, I think, intentional. I think it’s intentional to pull in, pull in to hear, pull in to be reminded of God’s word to them and remind them that you matter. And Paul’s letter is not just to one people. There’s a mix here.

Anthony: Speaking of the writing, the letter of course it was written to the church at Corinth, but it was also written for us. So, I think I can say with faithfulness and fidelity with the scripture, you, Julie, Frantz, don’t lack any spiritual gift! And that’s an astounding thought to ponder.

Paul spoke this on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the inspiration of the Spirit. So, what should we know and how should we act as a result?

Julie: I think we can probably understand this a little deeper as you get further into 1 Corinthians. Paul actually addresses spiritual giftings, and when he’s referencing “you,” we have to remember that he’s speaking to the church. There’s a body here, there’s a community here. And even though we like to individualize everything, that we hear a lot. I think there is a community here that Paul is talking to. And he addresses the spiritual gifting of that community.

You could say that every congregation has every spiritual gift. I’m not sure that I’m confident to go that far, but what we do know, based on what Paul has given us, is that all these gifts are the work of the one and same Spirit. We know that he distributes them to each one just as he determines. And that’s out of 1 Corinthians 12.

So, every congregation has been gifted with all the needed and necessary gifts according to the Holy Spirit’s designation for the common good. So not one person has all the gifts. We’re required to work together, allowing the diversity of gifts to build unity within the body and to encourage and uplift one another.

So really not a place to boast or a place to feel inferior, but just a place to sit and rest in the reality that we have just what we need as far as God has determined.

Anthony: Many of the listeners today to this podcast that will be preparing sermons using the worship calendar. And of course, we’ve entered into the season just after Epiphany.

I know I’ll be putting you on the spot here a bit, but anything you want to say about the season of Epiphany? Epiphany-tide, the days following Epiphany? And ultimately what we see being revealed in Jesus?

Julie: I always look forward to this time because even though I prep and I’ve got an idea of where we will be journeying, I feel like God is constantly giving us a fresh season of Epiphany, a fresh season to see again. And so, that’s something that I try to have a posture of—new sight and a place to receive afresh the word of God.

Because I know that a lot of scriptures—as pastors, as you’ve been pastors for many years, these are scriptures that you’ve journeyed through multiple times. So much so that you may even remember the last sermon that you gave in relation to this scripture. But I would just challenge that we would sit and posture ourselves to see afresh and to experience anew this beautiful time of seeing and a beautiful time of revealing.

Anthony: Yeah, I once read how theology and the work of biblical interpretation is a human, fallible activity aimed at articulating the perfect infallible logic of God in Christ. And therefore, all of our God-talk, theology, is ultimately rooted in Christology which is the study of Christ. For He alone sums up God’s self-revelation to mankind, which is so true as Hebrews 1 tells us, he’s the exact representation of God. And that’s how God is speaking to us in the word, the living Word, Jesus Christ.

And so, Epiphany is a beautiful season to be, as you said, reminded afresh of just who God is and what he is revealing about himself in the person work of Jesus Christ. And I’m so thankful that we can just ponder Jesus during this season, to say he continues to reveal himself. It’s not a one and done. He, by the Spirit, is continuing to reveal the unbelievable and matchless nature of our God.

Our next passage is 1 Corinthians 1:10-18. It’s for the third Sunday after the Epiphany in the Revised Common Lectionary, which is on January the 22nd.

Julie, would you read that one for us please?

Julie: Absolutely.

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Anthony: Hallelujah. Paul appeals to us to have no divisions and to be perfectly united in mind and thoughts. And I go, Whoa, wait a second. We live in a time wrought with division disunity and quarrels and we see it not only in society, but it rears its ugly head in the church.

So, what should we do? Pastor Julie just threw up her hands in despair. Help us understand.

Julie: This message is difficult today for so many, and it was difficult back then. God’s message and his mission does not rely on human approval. The gospel’s not logically sound. Who would do this?

And we have some who are thinking the cross was a shameful death, and it’s a cursed man who died upon that. This is absolute ludicrous that somebody would die upon a cross. You want to follow someone who’s died upon a cross? This is sounds crazy. The great thinkers and the profoundly educated, they couldn’t come up with a way to save themselves.

And yet, Paul presents that God’s love, grace, and mercy does not make sense. And I would say thank goodness for that. Because rejected and denied, God turns toward humanity and lays down his life.

It doesn’t make sense and yet it is. It’s not a place of despair. It’s a place of hope because God did something that no one else would do. God has done something that makes no logical sense, and yet it is. It’s a place to stand in awe and wonder of our God.

Anthony: And you said it, it makes no sense. And that is true. And it tells us that, the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. And maybe you want to talk about that—what this means, this “perishing” word. But to those of us who are being saved, it’s the power of God. Amen. And amen. Tell us a little bit more about this. Help us understand.

Julie: I thought it was interesting that Paul doesn’t use eloquent language, attractive language to entice people to this. The gospel message, centered on Christ, is a powerful, transformative message.

There is no need for added fluff. It is a place where the hopelessness of humanity discovers the love of God and great hope. God uses the gospel message to bring salvation to those who would believe. It is a place where things are not as they should be.

There is gratefulness and thankfulness for that because if things were as they should be, we would all be in a lot of trouble. And yet God presents something really beautiful. It’s like the dawning of a new hope. Years ago, Anthony, I heard you give a message, and you used the Lord of the Rings in your message. And there’s a great battle in the Lord of the Rings, where hope is nowhere to be found.

You know the doom of what is happening. We have these people and they’re in a kingdom that is falling, and their stronghold is crumbling right before them. And all they can see is a sea of army approaching and encroaching upon them.

All of a sudden, when all hope has faded, there’s a light that shows at the top of the hill, and it is the great Gandalf. He’s arrived, and he has arrived with the strength to overcome all that has been against them.

And it is foolishness that we would put so such hope in Christ. To this humanity, it’s like, this is crazy talk! But to us that are saved in the power of God, it is life itself. It’s that abundant life. It’s that place of rest. It’s that place where we can just exhale and be. Be saved. It’s a great place of peace for us. And it does not make sense to humanity. It does not make sense to the brokenness of this world.

Who would do that? Who would do that?

Anthony: I’m drawn as I look back over this passage to verse 13 and Paul says, was Paul crucified for you and were you baptized in the name of Paul? Clearly the answer is no, in Christ, in Christ alone.

My thought goes to the work of ministry, being heralds of the gospel. As pastors in the church of Jesus Christ, it’s really easy to get a savior complex. We’re out saving the world, trying to rescue people. But nobody’s crucified in your name and my name, and that’s good! That’s reassuring because if it’s on me, if it’s on you, woo, we’re in trouble.

Anything you want to say to that? Any affirmation in that? Just any thought that you have about how that shapes your participation in ministry.

Julie: Yeah. I think it’s easy for us—sometimes as pastors you can receive a lot of really good feedback sometimes. And it can make you feel pretty good about things, and you think, oh, I’m doing a pretty good job here, or whatnot.

And what’s funny is those come, and then the criticisms come, and you be tore down a bit. But the reality of joining Jesus in ministry is that it’s not our ministry. This isn’t our ministry. I think this is what Paul’s getting at—this isn’t his ministry.

The proclamation of hope has nothing to do with Paul. The proclamation of hope has to do with who? Jesus. That’s it. That’s it. And any one of us who would declare otherwise or to take credit otherwise, we’re missing the point. And I think in a lot of churches, sometimes those who are very gifted in certain things can present a place where people jump on board with that person. It’s like they’re drawn to that person.

And I think as pastors, we want people to be drawn to Christ. We want people to see Christ. And doesn’t mean that we can’t be gifted, doesn’t mean that we can’t give good sermons, doesn’t mean that we can’t be a good pastor. It’s just it’s not about us. It’s not about us.

And sometimes our congregations—and I don’t know, I haven’t experienced enough of other cultures and stuff, but here in the United States, the culture can be very pastor-centric. It can be very focused on the pastor and the speaker and how well they do things and whatnot. And I think that is detrimental to the church. It’s detrimental to the body of Christ. And I think it’s good for us to be aware of that and to constantly point to Christ.

I don’t want anyone to come to me and think this is in me. It’s not. And I thank God that he reminds me of that. And I think this is a good reminder from Paul of, no, it’s not about us.

Anthony: Yeah. I often think of John the Baptist in this way from that imagery in John 1. He’s teaching his disciples and Jesus walks by, and he points to him, look the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And the disciples get up and leave him. And if John wanted to make it about himself, he’d be like, hey, where are you guys going? I’m not done with my sermon.

He knew what he was there for, and we are to do the same, to point people to our Lord Jesus Christ. And in participating in pastoral ministry, I’ve discovered that 80% of it is proclaiming and sharing the gospel. And it seems like the other 20% is setting up chairs, right?

It’s just rolling up your sleeves and going to work and in doing so, we are embodying the reality of who Jesus is. But thank God, it’s his ministry and it’s in his power and strength that we act. Hallelujah.

Julie: And let’s not get frustrated if that temptation gets there. If that temptation comes, let’s just be aware of it and continue to point to Christ.

It’s pretty natural for a congregation to love, and they want to be respectful to their pastors and stuff. And we have a bit of a culture of that in some congregations, and that’s not a bad thing, but it is Jesus. It is Jesus that we are here for.

He is the one who gathers. He is the one we worship. He is the one who builds the church. He is the one who grows us. Our spiritual giftings come from him. We couldn’t do any of this without him. And it is his ministry. And I think, as pastors, we can point to that, and just remind in case that temptation does come.

Anthony: Right on.

Sister, we’re up to our final pericope of the month. It’s Matthew 5:1-12. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany on January the 29th. And it reads:

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Julie, Jesus said, blessed are the poor, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger, those who are merciful. Sometimes that seems truly at odds with our world and the self-help, “get ‘er done,” get ahead society, “dog eat dog.”

These statements seem so out of sync to what we might call quote unquote reality. What should we learn and embody from Jesus our Lord?

Julie: I think that we have to look at these statements and realize that this isn’t a to-do list for Christians as if we could even do it ourselves.

It’s not that. This is a place where it’s actually not about us. It really is like the indicatives of blessing. And so many would read this and think if I am meek, then God will bless me. If I am merciful, then God will show me mercy.

But it’s more of a proclamation of who he is. This is who God is. He’s a God of blessing. To know him, in whatever circumstances you find yourself in, is to be blessed. This is what it means to be drawn into the communion of God. A place of blessing.

And when you think of people who are meek, you don’t think of them being blessed. You think of people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, you think of them lacking, right? You think of those who are merciful, it’s like they’re weak. What are they doing?

These are things that we may not look at as a good thing. Or we may look at as less than, and yet God reminds us that this is a place where we can participate in the blessing of him, the blessing of who God is. It is a place of blessing to know God and to be in that place of relationship with him.

And if we follow down through this scripture passage, we see in verse 12, here is the imperative. Here is our response: rejoice and be glad. And so, this isn’t a how-to. How to humble yourself enough to receive a blessing. Because I think that it would be discouraging to those who want to be strong and whatnot, but also it could become an idol for those who [think] I’m going to tear myself down enough to be this, so that I can get a blessing.

And it’s just not—this is not how God has relationship with us. This is just outside of who he is really. It’s not, if I do this, then God will do this.

Anthony: Yeah. I think in a truly Christological reading of this passage, we know that Jesus himself said it. The scriptures are about him.

And so, who was merciful? Who was pure in heart? Who was the peacemaker, who was persecuted because of righteousness, who was insulted and persecuted and falsely accused? Well, it was Jesus! This is him.

Like you were saying, this reflects the very essence and nature of God. He is the one who we see all of this in, and of course, in the very generous, giving nature of God that we experience blessing, as you pointed to.

And I also think that there is, in our following of Christ and being conformed to Christ, there is an act of participation in this. And so, I did want to ask you, verse 9 talks about the peacemakers are blessed, and I’ve thought about this, and I’d just like to ponder it with you.

It doesn’t say, blessed are the keep peacekeepers. Am I making too much of that? Is it semantical or is there a difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper? Is there something we should consider?

Julie: I don’t know if we’re reading too much or too little or anything there. But I think to realize that both exist in Christ and Christ alone, it’s in a life of participation.

When I look at this, I don’t really focus on the difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper, but that it only exists in Christ. This only exists in Christ. This is the One that we participate with who has done all things and continues to do this through the Spirit.

So, in this way, Jesus reminds us, he’s the sole mediator. He’s the one, he’s the only one. He’s that high priest. So, I can’t step in and be a peacemaker or peacekeeper. That’s outside of my willpower.

But I can sit in the reality that in my life, there is opportunity for me to respond in participation, as Jesus is our high priest. And that this is not dependent upon human effort, but I do have a participation and response.

And it is a gift for me to be in that participation. It is a gift. And I think it was James Torrance—he wrote, “The gift of participating through the Spirit in the Incarnate Son’s communion with the Father…” to ponder that gift.

And I think when we look at these things, we see the giftedness and blessing of participating in who Jesus is. And this verse, this describes him.

Anthony: Yeah. I probably should have worded that question differently. I hear people sometimes talk Julie, and yes, I know this is about God, but we do actively participate in him. And yes, I know folks like to say, let’s keep the peace, and what they mean is, let’s avoid conflict.

The peacemaker that we see in Jesus went right into the heart of conflict. He assumed it into himself and dealt with it directly through the Cross. And so, I sometimes wonder if by making a distinction between peacemaker and peacekeeper, that truly as followers of Jesus that we need to be active in making peace.

Even as we wait for the fullness of the kingdom to come, that the kingdom is emerging. It is inaugurated. And even though it’s hidden, that we have this chance to bear witness to the reality, that we are active in moving toward peace, which means moving toward Jesus. And sometimes that means it’s uncomfortable for people, that it’s not the avoidance of conflict, but it is reconciling.

Because reconciliation is God’s idea, and it’s good. It’s a great idea. It’s the best idea. And sometimes I think we have to move toward that. That’s really what I was driving at. But thanks be to God that Jesus is the one who ultimately has done that at the Cross. Amen.

Julie: Yes, definitely. And I think that peacekeeper—when we encounter Christ and we live in relationship with him, there’s a hard truth that comes with the gospel. And it’s a truth that is refining, and it penetrates.

When we talk about being a peacekeeper, it’s that moment of maintaining the right to be right or prioritizing the person in whom Christ is sitting in relationship with. It’s that moment we are participating in the peacekeeping.

And so yes, sorry. I didn’t fully grasp what you were asking me before. But yeah, I think that’s a place where we do encounter the hard truths of the gospel. We do encounter that refinement and that double-edged sword that divides what is life-giving and what is not. And Jesus calls us to participate in that which is life-giving, that which is restoring, And if we look at the nature of Christ, it is a restorative nature.

And so yes, we can be peacekeepers as we participate in the restorative nature of Christ. It’s not a nature to condemn others, but a nature to restore. And that’s a very beautiful place that God invites us into.

Anthony: Amen. And what is the result of that making peace? Verse 12, rejoice and be glad.

What is the result of theology? What is the result of encountering this scripture passage? Rejoice and be glad. This is the gospel. Good news. And if we’re not rejoicing and being glad, we’re doing something wrong. Right, Julie?

Is there anything else that you want to bring out of this passage for those who will be preparing to proclaim it?

Julie: I think that we can rest and rejoice in the blessing of who Jesus is. We can do that. And maybe we don’t give ourselves permission to do that enough. Maybe we don’t give ourselves permission enough to really sit in that place of blessing with the Lord. But he is a God of blessing. And to know him is to be blessed.

Anthony: Amen. Amen and amen. Sister Julie, it’s a joy to know you as a friend, a sister in Christ, as a fellow pastor. I’m so grateful that you said yes to the invitation to join me in this conversation around Scripture.

We call it Gospel Reverb. And as is our tradition, we like to close with a word of prayer. So, would you, as our guest, be willing to pray over our listening audience? And let’s celebrate this blessing that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Julie: Yes.

Gracious and faithful Lord, thank you that we get to come and walk through this scripture together. And Lord, it is such a blessing to sit with you and to be in your word and to have your Spirit pour upon us. And Lord, you are so good and so faithful to us.

Lord, I just lift up the pastors who are right now preparing, preparing to deliver your word to a beautiful congregation. Lord, I pray that you will be clear and that you will be directive in helping them to prepare this message.

Help them to rest with confidence, Lord, in you. Rest that you are the one leading. You are the pastor of these churches; it’s not us. Thank goodness for that. We are joining you. And Lord, we just thank you for that faithfulness.

We know your faithfulness is true in all circumstances—that we can trust, and we can rest in that. And so, in the preparation of these messages, Lord, pray that we will truly trust your lead in preparing those. Lord, I pray that you will help us to see these things afresh in you. Help us to see what you are revealing. And help us, Lord, to present those in your will, in your timing, and in the way, Lord that they need to be heard.

And God, we give you all glory. None of us could do this without you. I don’t think any of us want to do it without you, Lord. And thank goodness that is not the case, that we have to move one day without you, Lord, in this ministry. And so, to you, be the glory, Lord.

Thank you again for my brothers and sisters who join me now in proclaiming the gospel and pointing to the goodness of you Lord. And it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.


Thank you for being a guest of Gospel Reverb. If you like what you heard, give us a high rating and review us on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast content. Share this episode with a friend. It really does help us get the word out as we are just getting started. Join us next month for a new show and insights from the RCL. Until then, peace be with you!

Compelled by Love w/ Takalani Musekwa

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In this episode, Cara Garrity, interviews Takalani Musekwa, Regional Director in GCI-South Africa. Together they wrap up our year of Compelled by Love by discussing what it means to live sent, and the theology that is the foundation for our participation in the Love Avenue.

“[It’s] about promoting the collective activity of the church community in the Love Avenue, rather than limiting this to individuals … We should do it collectively because there is a sense in the sending when Jesus said to Peter, he wants to make him fisher of men … [that] the kind of fishing Peter was used to was through nets. It was mass fishing. There was no going alone. You go with others because to man a fishing boat, the nets, and everything, you need somebody else. It’s not something that you do alone. So, they were always in groups in these boats, and they’d throw out the nets as a group.  

When I look at that kind of fishing, it describes the kind of Love Avenue activity and programs that we want to see happening, where the church community sees itself going out into its community and throwing out its nets. It’s about understanding that there is actually the collective part of it. And therefore, having an active, alive Love Avenue ministry in the church is about creating these opportunities for the church to go out into the community together and minister together in the community.”
—Takalani Musekwa

 

Main Points:

  • Our theme for the year, while we’ve focused on the Love Avenue, has been Compelled by Love. What does it mean to you to live sent? 5:15
  • What other things can sometimes motivate us to participate in the Love Avenue? What is the risk of being motivated by anything other than the love of Christ? 15:23
  • How have you personally grown in being compelled by the love of Christ to live sent? 21:40
  • What is one way that you can share that you’ve seen your local church being “Compelled by Love” in their own neighborhood? And what have you learned from that? 30:02
  • What are some ways that you’ve seen local churches building rhythms and cultures of living sent collectively? 35:50
  • What encouragements would you share with those who are hesitant or feel like they are struggling to live sent? 48:58

 

Resources:

  • Place-sharing series – The practice of place-sharing brings intentionality to the nature of the relationships we form with our neighbors. Check out the following videos to learn what place-sharing is, why it’s valuable, and how it reflects the ministry of Jesus.
  • For the Sake of Other People – an Equipper article that reminds us the purpose of the Church is for the sake of the other.
  • Who is Jesus? – a collection of articles that center on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the author and perfector of our faith?
  • Missional Livingoverviews Michael Frost’s BELLS model, a framework that helps us develop missional habits in our everyday lives.

Follow us on Spotify, Google Podcast, and Apple Podcasts.

Program Transcript


Welcome to the GC Podcast, a podcast to help you develop into the healthiest ministry leader you can be by sharing practical ministry experience. Here are your hosts, Cara Garrity and Charissa Panuve.

Cara: Hello friends, and welcome to the final GC Podcast episode of 2022. I’m so, pleased to have Charissa Panuve here helping us close out the year.

So, thank you, Charissa, for helping us end the year strong.

Charissa: Thank you, Cara, for having me and giving me the opportunity to be here. I’m so, excited to help close out the year.

Cara: Oh, yes. And as we’re closing out the year with GC Podcast, we’re all likely preparing to close out the year in a lot of different ways. And the end of a calendar year is often a good time to reflect on what lays behind and what’s coming ahead.

What is one of your favorite reflective practices?

Charissa: Ooh well, I am a water baby, after all. But not so much that I want to still be in the pool. So, I do enjoy sitting in the shower.

And if I’m not singing along to my worship playlist, I like to think about all the things that have happened in the past year, per se, and reflect on God’s hand in my life. And just look at it in detail because it may not have been as visible in that moment.

And thinking through all that, does make me excited to see how God will continue to work, not only in my life, but those around me as well. And knowing that he will never leave me or forsake me is so, comforting.

Cara: Amen. Thank you for sharing that with us. I think that reflection is a really meaningful spiritual practice and we all do it in different ways, but like you said, remembering the faithfulness of God through reflection is really powerful.

Even as we reflect on this year on GC Podcast, we’ve been exploring the Love Avenue and our theme “Compelled by Love” throughout the year. So, I thought it would be appropriate to close out the year by returning to this idea of being “Compelled by Love.”

And it’s good to explore best ministry practices of the Love Avenue. What are the things that we can do? What are some things that are good practice? But if we forget the who and the why, at the end of the day all the best practices are busy work or they’re just noise.

Charissa, what does it mean to you to be compelled by the love of Christ in witness and in mission?

Charissa:  To me, it would mean that whatever we do or say should be with the thought of how Jesus loves in the back of our mind. For me personally, I get triggered very easily and it’s something that God has been working with me on. But yes, in those times when I feel like someone is purposely pushing my buttons or I’m just having a low day where I feel like everyone or everything is against me, I have learned to make it a habit to remember that emotions are temporary, and we shouldn’t let what we feel trump what we know and that makes sense.

But if we know that Christ died for us and he loves us unconditionally and he made us in his image, then these emotions that are not of God should not overrule the knowledge that God loves us unconditionally, and he wants that for us as well.

Cara: Yeah, that makes absolute sense, and I think it’s a really powerful formative practice. I appreciate you sharing that with us, Charissa.

And so, now let’s go ahead and turn to our interview with Takalani Musekwa.


Cara: Hello friends, and welcome to the latest episode of GC Podcast. This podcast is devoted to exploring best ministry practices in the context of Grace Communion International churches.

I’m your host Cara Garrity, and today I am so, happy to interview Takalani Musekwa. Takalani is a GCI Regional Director of Southern Africa.

Takalani, thank you so much for taking your time to join us today on the GC Podcast.

Takalani: Thank you so much Cara. I’m really glad to be here. Looking forward to this conversation.

Cara: Yes, so am I. And today I’m really excited because we’re going to be wrapping up our theme of the year, “Compelled by Love,” where we’ve been focusing on the Love Avenue and ministry practices within the Love Avenue. And so, when we think about the Love Avenue, one of the things we’ve been talking about is the truth that our God is a sending God.

And so, for you, Takalani, what does it mean to live sent?

Takalani: I think if you look at it, we don’t really have an option as believers, as the church. Jesus said, as the Father sent me, I send you. And I think it’s who we are as the church. It identifies our role in the world.

One writer said, we exist for mission. And that’s what the church’s primary purpose is. And he said the church that forgets that becomes a social organization. It becomes anything else other than that. And I think it’s important that as a church, we keep this center of mind, that Jesus, when he left, he said, I send you.

And so, we live in the world as a sent community. And I think it’s important. For me, that’s what it means. It means it defines who we are as believers. So, it’s not something that, it’s one of the things we do. It’s who we are. It defines who we are. So, for me that’s what it means to be sent.

And it’s a privilege because God sent his own Son into the world and the Son wants to share that sending with us. He wants us to participate in that work. And so, for me, that’s very privileged work. And if we can see it that way, that we are participating in something that is privileged.

But God said — Jesus himself said, Look do not think that you are so special. God can raise stones if he needs to. So, for us to do this, it’s not because God can’t do it himself, but it’s because he chooses to do it with us. He chooses to see us participate. So, that’s for me where the privilege lies, that this is not because God is desperate for us, but it’s because he wants us to be participants in what he’s doing in the world.

And so, it’s a very special privilege to have as believers.

Cara: That is so beautifully said. Thank you, Takalani. And this idea, or not the idea, but the truth, that it’s about who we are, not just something that we do, I think is so powerful. And when we’ve been talking about the Love Avenue this year, we come back to this theme of “Compelled by Love”.

I’m wondering what difference does it make when it’s the love of Christ that compels us to live lives of sent-ness?

Takalani: Yeah. That’s important because often—we know from the very early church, Peter writes about it, Paul writes about it—there are many who come into the church for many other reasons, and they do what they do for many other reasons. We can do this because we want to seek respect. We can do it because we want honor, acclaim and popularity and acceptance.

But those are not the drivers of what we do. Jesus was saving the world not because he was going to be popular, not because he was going to be accepted, not because he was going to be respected or honored. In fact, many times he was treated very poorly for who he was, and he died a very shameful death.

So, those are the things that we should—I think that’s probably, if you like, the biggest stumbling block to us doing the work of being sent, of sharing the love of God with the world because where we are not likely going to obtain the honor, the respect, and the acceptance and popularity, we find that we don’t want to get involved in that.

And our world today is full of that. We find people who are doing this because they are seeking after popularity, they want to be famous and all those kinds of things. That’s why they do what they do. They want to get the seats in the front, in the front seats. I don’t know the way it is in the U.S. (we see on TV), but here on the Continent [of Africa] to be a pastor or called an evangelist or anything, some churches, anybody is called a pastor, if you are a man, for that matter.

So, whenever you arrive, then you are treated like that because you are a church person. You’re given the front seat and so on. So, some people do it for that reason, and I think that’s the sad part. We need to understand that our mission is to share the love of God with the world and that love may be rejected, just as Jesus himself was rejected.

He did say that just as they rejected me, they’ll probably reject you. Just as they persecuted me, they’ll probably persecute you. So, we don’t do it for those reasons. We do it despite those reasons. We understand that Jesus died for all humans. Whether they know it or not, that’s what has happened. And we need to continue to share the good news whether they reject us or not.

When Jesus sent the 72 and I find that very fascinating for me, that he sends—in the Book of Luke—he sends the 12, and then he sends the 72, almost to say, I’m not just sending the 12. The 72, for me, represents the rest of us who are not pastors, who are not leaders in the church, but it’s actually a mission for all of us.

And then when he sends them, he tells them, Look, you go, and you do this. And if they don’t accept you, you move on. Don’t worry about whether they accept you or not. You just need to do what you are sent to do until you find the men of peace, until you find those that accept you. And you just keep preaching.

But the bottom line is we need to reach out whether we are accepted or not, whether there is a progression or not, because there’s a time when we are driven, and I see it as a trap too. We can fall into that trap. We are driven by simply wanting to increase the numbers. That whatever Love Avenue activities we do, it’s driven primarily by whether it’ll add people into the seats in our churches.

I think we need to see beyond that. That God is doing much, much greater work beyond that and that’s, I think, what we should be mindful of because if that becomes the driver, then we lose sight of what we’re trying to do.

I’m in the corporate world. We’re not different to marketing people who are simply trying to get more business. And that’s not what we are about. We are about sharing the love of God to the world. It might end up that people don’t necessarily come into a church, but the seed we have planted might grow 20 years down the line, 30 years down the line.

And that’s for me the pressing matter—is to understand that God is working in people’s lives. And he may not do it today, but the seed we plant today might find fruit in five years. We’re no longer even there, so, we won’t see it. It’s about understanding that God is at work, and therefore whatever we do won’t necessarily generate results that we can see.

I think it’s important that the love of God is what drives us. The love that Christ had. Christ wept over Jerusalem, and that’s the love that we need to have. Paul, in the Book of Romans 9, he talks about how his heart aches to see the people of his world saved.

He yearns for that. He yearns to see he was saying—he even says, I wish I myself could be condemned and outcast if only my people could be saved instead. And I think that’s the kind of sacrificial love Paul had for the people of Israel. And I think if all of us could have that kind of love for our communities, for our villages, for our cities, for our neighborhoods, to say I would love to see my neighborhood saved. I would like to see my city saved.

Even if it were to mean I’m outcast and I’m abandoned, but if they could be saved. That’s the kind of life Jesus lived, to say, even if it means me dying, that they could be saved. That’s what it means. And I think that’s where we need to get to. Where we genuinely love the people, that we seek their salvation above all, besides, despite us not getting anything in return for that matter.

So, I think that’s for me what the primary thing is. If we don’t have that, then a lot of the other things come into play and are driven by selfish motives which eventually gets exposed because the people can see that we’re not really loving them for who they are.

Cara: That is a really powerful word.

And even a challenge. You mentioned that word stumbling block, that there are things that we can allow to get in the way. There are other things that sometimes we allow to motivate us other than the love of Christ, but it is only the love of Christ that can truly compel us to be sent in a way that is real and true and genuine because it’s the only thing that’s lasting.

And Takalani, could you speak a little bit to some—you mentioned a few, but what are some of the other things that you’ve seen can sometimes motivate us to be sent or to participate in Love Avenue activities? And then what’s the risk when we allow those things to be stumbling blocks? When we allow things other than the love of Christ to compel us?

Takalani: Sometimes we can do it out of guilt, for example. Sometimes it might feel that if we don’t do something, then we’re doing something wrong. So, guilt can be the driver where we’re doing it out of guilt.

We can do it sometimes even out of a feeling of God’s impotence, to think that if we don’t do something people are going to die because I didn’t speak to them. So, when you understand the sovereignty of God over our salvation, that he has not left this in our hands. He left it in the hands of Jesus. Ultimately, that’s what will determine the salvation of people and not what we do or do not do.

However, the joy of us participating in the salvation of people, it’s something that is priceless. I think one of the joys of being in the kingdom is to see people who have come to faith and are sharing eternity with you. And you have played some role in that. And that, for me that’s the one of the greatest joys probably we’ll experience.

Guilt can be a bad driver because when we do that, then we end up doing things that in fact are harmful sometimes. We try to manipulate people because we feel that we have to do something. And if we don’t do something then something’s going to go wrong. We can start sacrificing even ourselves and our families because we have to do this.

And there are some people who are driven like that. They do this because they feel guilty if they don’t do something. They feel if somebody doesn’t believe they have failed God and they have failed those people and those people’s blood is on their hands. And so, there is that part that we should avoid falling to the trap of.

Cara: Yeah. You’re I really appreciate you sharing this.

You’re calling out some really important and deep things here that are so critical for us to explore as we seek to participate in Jesus’s mission and to live as sent people, because sometimes these things can be nefarious.

We think, of course, participating in Jesus’s ministry, living sent, participating in these church activities, what have you, of course they’re holy things, of course, they’re godly things, but sometimes. These different motivations can be sneaky. And those are important things for us to keep in mind. And some of these things you’ve named, that’s really real. We have to have that prayerful discernment and self-awareness.

Are we just motivated by the numbers of people coming to our church activities and services? Are we just being motivated by how important we may feel? Are we being motivated just by guilt or feeling like it’s on us and not truly on Jesus? Is he not enough of a Savior?

That’s really, really a strong challenge.

And a freedom, I think, that you’ve brought to us, Takalani, because when we allow ourselves to be compelled by the love of Christ, I find that there’s a freedom there too. And like you said, a joy and a privilege.

Takalani: Yes. And I think that’s the point—the freedom of it. So, when you do it within the freedom to—I always say sometimes that freedom is not freedom from; it’s freedom to.

And that’s important to understand that when Paul says it is for freedom you have been saved. So, we need to understand that it’s not freedom from something, it’s freedom for something. And it’s about them participating in this with the freedom of knowing that.

Sometimes I see it as us sitting on the lap of a father who’s doing something, maybe washing dishes. You’ve sees these things that you can strap your baby in front of you? You stand in front of them, you’re washing dishes and the baby is also touching the dishes and so, on. When they finish there, the baby will run to mommy and say, daddy and I have been washing dishes.

And I think for me that sort of reflects what we are involved in. That we are participating in something that is so special and so holy and so deep that we can’t really understand it. The word of God is holy. And the fact that God allows our corrupt defiled mouths to even utter it is so special.

And I think that’s the privilege and the freedom we should enjoy and experience, understanding that this is something that God has given us out of his generosity and not because of any need on his side.

Cara: Oh, and what an incredible image you’ve just provided us too. I love that. I love that.

And so, I’m wondering, I think a lot of us, we learn by storytelling. We’re storytelling people. And so, how have you personally grown in being compelled by the love of Christ to live sent? And if you would, could you share a story that brings to life part of what this journey has looked like for you?

Takalani: For me, it has been a long journey. I came to faith when I was still in high school and in the church that I was part of at the time. It was not GCI. I started getting involved in ministry preaching in the local church, getting involved with the youth activities.

And one of the things we did, as the young people—we were in a small community, a village. Effectively, you could walk around the village and be able to go anywhere. So, we started a simple ministry of praying for the fellow church members. So, we would say—and we did on [it] Friday evening, so on a Sunday, we’ll say, the next Friday we’re going to visit your family, Cara, to pray.

And all we did is literally, was to do that. We will arrive at house, we will gather around the sitting or lounge room, and then we will just do the simple greetings, and then we will pray for about 30 minutes to an hour and then we will leave. And we started continuously doing that.

And as we did that, we found that many young people—because as we did that, we in the villages—I don’t know if you’re familiar with or have been to the Continent and been to a village. So, it’s a very communal space. So, as we walk in the street, we’ll see other young boys standing around the streets, hanging around, doing nothing. We’ll tell them what we’re going to do and out of curiosity, they’ll join us.

And we’ll go with them, and they’ll see what we’re doing. We just pray and then we leave. And over time, I was surprised that a lot of young people started coming along, even to join us at church. And then the youth group started growing just from doing that.

And I found that very encouraging to see that just offering people prayers can be a ministry that God uses to reach to us.

And we also then used to have, during the school holidays during December, we used to do about three-week period (the week before Christmas, up to the first week of January), we would go into a hospital. Actually, we have three groups. One group will go into another one village. The other went into another village. Another group will go into a hospital. So, I remember one of the years, my group went to a hospital, and all we did every day for about three weeks was to literally wake up every morning with a schedule of all the wards in the hospital, we’d go from ward to ward.

All we did, we’d go in, sing a song, pray for all the patients in the ward, read a scripture, and then we move with the next ward. And for three weeks we just did that. And by the time we left, a lot of people were very appreciative and some of them were even asking, they would like to go to church when they get back home. And we just said, Look, some of the villages where they come from, we didn’t even have a church. So, we’d tell them, find church when you get home and go there.

So, those are the things that happened. Then I had a near-death experience when I was a student. We were actually traveling from a Passover service where we just had communion, and we were driving back home late at night.

And then we got to a traffic intersection, and our driver for some reason—and I could see. I was sitting in the backseat, and I could see there was a car coming and he somehow didn’t seem to see it. So, he just went straight in, and this car was coming at high speed. And he missed us by inches.

And it was such a close call that if he smashed into us, I don’t know whether we would’ve survived. I don’t think we would’ve survived the speed to which he was driving. And since then, I’ve always thought about my life as being a privilege to be alive. And so, I have this motto that I sign off my emails with, which says, Alive by the grace of God for the glory of God.

Since then, I’ve lived my life, in that light, that I’m alive because maybe God still has something for me to do in this world. Otherwise, he would’ve allowed me to rest. Because the world we live in now is not a world that we all desire to see around us. It’s full of violence, it’s full of evil and so on.

We all yearn for the kingdom of God. So, to be alive in this age, it has to be because God wants us to carry some work and we live by his grace. And all we can do this age, is to live, to glorify him in any way we can. And so, I see my life in that light. It’s about that. All that I do, I do it in that sense, that I view my life as a privilege, here to serve a God.

Like Paul puts it to say, for him to be alive is to be here to continue to minister to the people that God wants him to minister to. But he will desire to be at home with the Lord if possible. And I’m almost to the same spot, that I feel that as long as I’m alive, this is what my life will be.

This is what my purpose will be. And so, my involvement in ministry is driven primarily by that. That I feel that my life is by grace, and it is the yet to glorify God and to share in his glory because that’s what he has done. What we do is glorious. God’s work is glorious. And to participate is to share in that glory.

Cara: Amen. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us. And I praised God for that. And as I listen to you, I can’t help but think about the fact that yours is a life that I hear is compelled by the love of God. And it’s a beautiful thing when we really live in step with that truth that he has for us and that he’s drawing us into and living according to his glory and his purposes.

And so, I really praise God and appreciate you sharing part of your life and his story with you, with us. And I think that there is a sacredness to sharing our stories because God is at work and he is using all of our stories to grow us, to continue to reveal himself to us and to knit us together as a church according to his purposes too.

I think back even to what you said about what it means to live sent—that it’s part of who we are and that’s what it means to be the church. And that if it weren’t for that, we would just become a social club.

I’m wondering what is one way that you can share that you’ve seen your local church being “Compelled by Love”, the love of God in their own neighborhood? And what have you all learned from that?

Takalani: Yeah so, in the last few years, I’ve not been directly involved with the local church because of the role I have now. I just move around a lot. But many of our churches—or let me say some of our churches—are really getting involved.

And I think it’s about also understanding that—let me put it this way, if our history has been that we understood missional work, evangelism to be media-based, it was never something that we do. And when we started feeling that, yes, we need to go out and do this, it became an individual-based thing to say, we need to as individuals do this one on one. Which is correct, which is fine. But I think we need to understand that there is actually various ways to do this.

There’s not one way of doing it. As a church collectively, we have never seen that thus far. And I think for me, the Love Avenue is about promoting the collective activity of the church community in the Love Avenue, rather than limiting this to individuals, talking to individuals whether at home or in their neighborhood.

But we should do it collectively because there is a sense in the sending when Jesus said to Peter, he wants to make him fisher of men. Often in our modern day, at least where I am, when we talk about people going fishing, we’re talking about people going with their rod where they’re throwing a line into the water and they sit there and if one fish catches, then they reel it out.

But the kind of fishing Peter was used to was through nets. It was mass fishing. There was no going alone. You go with others because to man a fishing boat, the nets, and everything, you need somebody else. It’s not something that you do alone. So, they were always in groups in these boats, and they’d throw out the nets as a group.

And sometimes they hauled the net in, nothing is in the net. But that’s part of it. For me, when I look at that kind of fishing, it’s, for me, to describe the kind of Love Avenue activity and programs that we want to see happening where the church community sees itself going out into its community and throwing out its nets.

It might come with nothing. It might come with one fish. It may come with a lot of fish and some of it will be fish that you throw back into the water or they’ll fall back into the water themselves. But it’s about understanding that there is actually the collective part of it. And I think as a GCI community, that’s the part we still haven’t gotten around to yet to understand that evangelism is also a collective responsibility.

It’s something that we do together, not only just individually. We need to learn to do that together. Even Jesus, when he sent his people, as I said earlier, with the 72, he sent them two by twos, not individually. So, I think there is something telling about that, that we must understand that the Love Avenue activity and ministry is not a sole mandate is a collective mandate.

It’s a communal mandate that we do together. And as a church, I think we need to learn to do more of this together. And therefore, having an active, alive Love Avenue ministry in the church is about creating these opportunities for the church to go out into the community together and minister together in the community.

And for me, that’s the part that we need to help our churches to grow into because we have not been a church that does that very well,

Cara: Yeah. And this collective way of participating, I just think about how we’re created in the image of God and our God is a relational God—Father, Son, Spirit, triune God.

We are created for a relationship. The church, his body—even that image brings to mind that we’re not meant only to be individual, as you were saying. And so, that collective aspect, it makes sense when we think about who we were fashioned after. That there are aspects of being sent that we’re not going to be sent just alone but with one another because of who God is and who he has created and called us to be.

And I think that’s important that you’ve named that. That’s something to be learned and to be formed with intentionality and not something that we think we can wake up with one day and it’s just perfect or something, that we think we don’t have to pay attention to, and it’ll just form on its own.

But [it’s] something that collectively, as a community, as a gathering church community, we need to grow in together.

In your travels, as you’ve worked with local churches, what are some ways that you’ve seen local churches building rhythms and cultures of living sent collectively?

Takalani: Yeah so, for example, over the last two years we’ve had a lot of lockdowns. It’s just month or two ago that we got out of lockdown where all the restrictions were lifted, but we lived through a lot of that, and we could not gather except in open spaces in the streets. Churches could not gather in their normal church halls and stuff like that.

One of our churches, for example, they would on a Sunday morning put a speaker out in the street. They would sing some songs, and neighbors will come out and sit in their yards and sing along. And then they’ll serve communion in the street. And some neighbors will come along. They’ll invite them to come along, and they’ll join them in that kind of activity.

So, I thought that was very encouraging because when they started, I think they did it a few times, and when they stopped doing it, the neighbor started asking, Hey why you guys no longer doing this? People began to appreciate that this is something that the church was showing some care to the local community. Because at that time, of course, all churches were not doing anything. People were stuck in their homes. They were missing to go to church.

And the fact that they were now offering this kind of service, and they were offering not only to church, to Christians, [but] to anybody in the neighborhood, to say you can join. And there are some who were not church members, in any church, and they were coming along, singing along, and so on.

And sometimes it’s just about creating that because now they actually have built certain relationships with those communities in those streets where they were doing this. And some of them, in fact, have started coming to their local church because of the relationship they built during those events.

And they used to go out as a church group and do that in the streets because it was something that members, who were yearning to meet, and they could not meet legally without breaking the rules of the restrictions on gatherings and so on. But that came out to be a very helpful initiative.

And at my view, it’s probably something that you can do. And sometimes it doesn’t even have to be church itself. It could be any other activity that you do. More so, with most countries they have public holidays, which celebrate different kind of things. We need to fit into the rhythms of our societies on those days when those things are.

We need to find because, in fact—let me put it this way, There’s something that I learned from a guy who was actually holding a church in a bar every Sunday morning. No, more preaching in a bar than holding a church because those people were not really his church members. And one of the things he said, which sort of stuck with me, was that the gospel is all around us. You literally do not have to carry your Bible under your arm when you go to share the gospel, because wherever you look, the gospel is there.

He made a simple example. He said if you take any newspaper, and you look at the headline in the front page, he said, if you know your Scriptures, if you know the gospel, any headline you read is an opening to the gospel.

He said, if you look at any product, it’s a message. God is speaking through everything that is around us, and we just need to understand that and start using that. For example, he gave an example where he said they went to a restaurant with a friend of his who was not a believer.

And as they were speaking, talking, this friend of his said, one thing I don’t understand with you, my friend, is this Christianity of yours. It just makes no sense that somebody has to die for somebody else, for me to live and so on. It makes no sense. I don’t know why you believe this nonsense.

And he said to him as this guy finished saying that, because he was now practiced, he has trained his mind to always look for hook around himself to share the gospel. He said as this guy said that the waiter was bringing their food, and both of them had ordered steaks.

And as the steak was put on the table, he said to him, look I don’t know why it’s so difficult for you to understand that somebody had to die for us to live. You have ordered that steak there. What happened? A cow had to die for you to eat this and live. In fact, that’s the nature of life. Life comes from life. And the life we have is the life of God. God is the one who gives us this life. And so, it is in the death of Jesus that he gives us his very own life.

And whether you’re eating a vegetable, whether you’re eating meat or whatever, anything that sustains humans unfortunately has to be life. It is life and the only life can sustain life, and that’s the nature of things. So, it can’t be meaningless for you. That’s why we don’t eat stones because they’re lifeless. That’s why we don’t eat soil because it is lifeless. The only thing that we can eat and live is life itself. And that’s the very essence of it.

And so, he said when he said that he made this guy start thinking quite differently because he realized, in fact, it is about that.  And he then he started saying, for example, even when people who say they don’t want to eat meat, they’re vegetarian because they don’t want to kill.

He said, look it’s a futile exercise because even the plants we eat, so even if you’re vegetarian you have to cut a cabbage at the prime of its life because you want to eat. It could have still been alive for a few more months before it withers and dies. But for you to eat it, you have to cut it at the prime of its life to be able to eat it.

Even if you do look at the beans and stuff like that, you have to take the life out of them because they have potential to live. If you plant them, they’ll have new life. But for us to eat them is to stop them and take the life, the potential life they have within them and eat it up so, that we can live.

So, the very essence of our lives, it’s exactly that, that life comes from life. And so, I’m saying when you look therefore in the rhythm of our societies, our public holidays, our celebrations here within our communities, whatever they are, there is always a gospel message embedded within those things.

And it’s about us finding that. And as we enter those communities to participate in those activities of the communities, to realize that even within that we can begin to share what God’s Spirit is doing through that. Because God is speaking through everything that’s happening around us. He’s there in the community working because when he begins to speak, people begin to see.

We just need to help them see what God is already doing. And sometimes he’s doing it into the normal rhythm of what a community is doing. And as the people of the gospel, we need to just help them see this gospel that God is already sharing with them, which they probably are not seeing.

Cara: Yes, that is—I don’t even have the words, Takalani. That’s an incredible example because part of developing as a collective, gathering church community this muscle of sent-ness is to actually go. To actually be and to join your neighborhood, like you said, the rhythms of your neighborhood, your community, your town, wherever it is that you are, and to look for what God has already doing.

And so, we can’t nurture, cultivate being sent if we don’t just go ahead and go. I really love that example. As we go, I think, that the story that you’ve just provided shows that we do grow in learning to see Jesus and his good news everywhere as we’re sent.

And so, we become strengthened in his sending of us, and we can continue to develop that together as a community. And then we even come back with those learnings to our gathering church community, and we strengthen one another and then continue to develop with one another in that way.

Takalani: Yeah. And doing that is also life-giving even to ourselves because even as we participate in that, our very own lives become so invigorated because just participating in that is life itself, even for us. So, it’s part of how we, as the people of God, we grow, we live into what we’re meant to be.

It’s about who we are, as I said in the beginning. So, participating in these things is even life-giving to us in its own way. When we come back as a community, we’re encouraged about it. If you look at the stories that the 72 say when they come back and give Jesus the reports, they were so excited about what they’ve seen happening that “we couldn’t believe what we saw at there.”

And you Jesus said, look, don’t be excited about that. Be excited about the fact that your names are written in heaven. And so, he was even to show them, look, this is not about you guys. This is not about what you’re doing here. There is a bigger thing. You are participating in something that’s big.

Your names are written in heaven. That’s why you are involved in this thing. That’s where the excitement is. The excitement is not that we are going out and people are listening to us. The excitement is that we are participating in something big, and our names are hidden with Christ in God. That’s the excitement.

Cara: Amen. Amen. That’s a really good word. And even with what you’ve shared there, I want to highlight too what makes an impression (again, to just bring light to this sent-ness.)

Even with the 72, they were sent—and there’s nothing bad with having activities within the Love Avenue; that’s part of our rhythms of ministry—but there is an importance to the sent-ness, as you’ve mentioned, joining the rhythms that are already established of the community.

The 72 were sent, they weren’t asked to gather everyone. But they were asked to go. And that’s part of, I think, what we’re learning in the Love Avenue, is to go and to get outside of the physical walls or the structures of what we can conceive of as the church that is already gathering and to go out into the world, being sent by our sending God.

That’s an excellent encouragement or reminder for us of what that can look like and why we do that.

And as we’re starting to wrap up our time, what encouragements would you share, Takalani, with any of our listeners who are maybe hesitant or scared, maybe they feel like they’re struggling to live sent in this way?

Takalani: Yeah. For me, firstly, it’s about just getting out there. So, sometimes where we get stuck is in programming. We start thinking, okay, what program should we do? What event? Which should we organize? And sometimes, we don’t even need to do that because the community itself is already organizing event.

And as a church, we can go participate in those events. And as we participate in those events, opportunities will arise in that. Sometimes, I think, we limit ourselves because we think we must come up with activities and invite the community to us. Instead of saying the community’s already having this kind of event, we can go join that event.

And then in the long term, we can even be part of people who organize those events in the future. And then over time, as part of those organizers, it gives us experience into how to organize these community events, how to get people together in the community, how to reach out to them, and so on.

I think one of the things we need to learn is to say, as a church, how involved do we become with our communities? And it’s about literally going into the marketplace, if you like, and say, what is the community involved in? How can we participate in that? And then be able to offer our services, initially just of our services.

Even if you just go with your t-shirts saying, this is GCI, whatever the case may be. And you’re identifiable even as you serve there, that’s all you need to do. It’s not your church activity, it is the community activity. But you are as a church coming in because many community events struggle to find volunteers, and as a church community we can take advantage of that. We can make ourselves available. We can get involved. And as we do that, you’ll find that we begin to have a foothold into the communities and begin to speak into people’s lives. And so, I will encourage our churches to simply begin to see what is happening in their own community.

Get to know what’s in your own communities, and as you identify what’s happening, organize yourselves. If there is a Love Avenue ministry team within your church, plan to then go into these activities, participate, get involved. You’ll find that it becomes natural over time. You become more comfortable with engaging with your community.

And then sharing the gospel becomes something that you do as you go. It’s not something that then you plug into what’s going on without making any sense. You make it part of the rhythm of life that is taking place in that community rather than something that you bring from the outside, because our society today has gone beyond religion. When you come with the Bible, they shut up. They close off. The curtains come down. So, you don’t want to do that. You want to be part of the community. You want to get involved. But as you then engage with people in the community there, then you have an opportunity to begin to share the gospel.

They give you opportunity to begin to speak into their lives. The opportunity for them to begin to look at you and say, this is the life I would like to see.

The people of Israel, when you read in the New Testament, specifically the Book of Acts, we hear about God-fearing Gentiles. These are people who lived alongside Jewish people, and they’ve seen the kind of lives these Jewish people lived. And they said I like the kind of God these people worship. And they themselves were God-fearers; they didn’t become Jews. Many of them were probably not even circumcised. But they became God-fearers.

And over time, I believe many of them became part of the community that was part of the early believers. That on Pentecost, we’re talking about thousands of people believing. These are the kind of people that became believers. They were one foot there already because they had begun to see that there is a God amongst these people of Israel, these Jewish people that seems to be much greater than the gods that I’ve been told about before.

So, even as we engage with our communities, that’s what communities will begin to see. God will begin to shine his light out of our lives into their lives, and that’s what we want to do. If we are hidden in our own churches, and we’re never in the community, that light can’t shine, we need to let that light shine and it can only shine as we walk around and in between and amongst our communities. That’s what we need to learn to do.

Cara: Amen. Thank you for that encouragement. Are there any other final thoughts that you would like to share with our listeners before we close out our conversation today?

Takalani: Yeah, maybe the last thing to say, I’ll say because some of these things become a challenge also. It’s about saying, who is our communities and who are we trying to reach, and all those kinds of things.

So, I think if you look at the mission that Jesus gives to the disciples, saying, You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the world. You can almost use those descriptions as shorthand for different kinds of communities of people.

Jerusalem will probably be people who probably were—there are many people who were part of GCI who left, and they are nowhere. They are not anywhere in any church and so on. But they are at heart still having deep connections and relationships with people who are in GCI. For me, that’s the community we should not forget about.

So, sometimes Facebook has groups of people. I’ve seen people who used to go to SEP together many years ago, they formed groups and say, we are the SEP group of these years. And sometimes you can get together with those people. Some of them are yearning to have somebody extend because they’re ashamed of just walking back into church. They don’t know how the relationships are after all these years.

For me, the first community is the Jerusalem community. The people who used to fellowship with us who are fallen away, who are not going anywhere. We must reach out to them.

The Judea community for me is the rest of the Christian community. Christians from other churches who have fallen away. Those are people who already are familiar with the gospel. And they just need people to reach out to them because maybe they’ve been disappointed, they’ve been hurt by previous church experiences. But they need to experience a new kind of Christian that is not judging, that is not condemning and help them to refine the love of God that Jesus has shared with us,

The Samaria community is then the people who maybe are Christian, but they practice certain things that we don’t necessarily agree with. But to understand that Jesus said, if they’re not against us, they are for us. And to begin to also meet with such people. There are some people who are in those groups that might find that they’re not in the right space. And as we engage with them, they might move out.

I mean, we have people who have been engaging with us even the time when we’re called a cult. And several people have helped us to be able to walk the journey out of practices that were problematic. And for me, the Samaritans were seen as people whose religious ideas and practices were seen problematic by the Jews, but over time many of them became believers in Jesus, despite the fact that initially they had their own ideas about who God is and how he wants to be worshiped.

And then “the ends of the world,” it’s then people who are not Christian at all that we need to be reaching out to.

For me, it’s about understanding that there are different communities within our communities, within our suburbs, within our towns. And understanding that these are different communities. That probably if we do any initiatives and programs, we need to understand which of these communities we’re trying to target and reach to.

But the first point is just to get out in the community. Let’s just get out there and start engaging the communities.

Cara: Yes. Thank you so much, Takalani. This has been an excellent conversation and I believe that our podcast listeners are going to be encouraged and convicted as they listen by the Spirit to take that step, that risk to live those sent lives that we were created to live, because that is who we are.

And so, I really thank you for sharing your insights and your experiences with us. But before I let you go, I do have a couple of random fun questions for you. And so, you can just go ahead and share the first thought that comes to mind when I ask you the question.

So, if you’re ready to go, the first question is: if you could invent a holiday, what would it be and what would you call it?

It’s a lot of power.

Takalani: Given my life, I will have a holiday which is dedicated to just taking time off. A day that you don’t do anything, think about anything. Switch off phones. Nobody must reach you. A gadget-free day, if you like. Yes, we can just be free from the technology around us and just go into ourselves and introspect a little bit.

Cara: I like it. I like it. I’d go on that holiday.

What book or movie have you read or seen recently that you would recommend?

Takalani: I don’t watch a lot of movies. Books that I’ve read, I’ve read through my studies. So, one of the ones that fascinated me was the lost history of Irish Christianity.

So, for me, just learning about the rich history of the Christians in Ireland was very fascinating. And I think church history is one of those things that fascinates me. History in general fascinates me, but church history more so, because I can begin to see myself in some of the people who went before us and that can be very inspiring.

Cara: Yeah, that sounds great. All right.

So, would you rather be able to speak any language or be able to communicate with animals?

Takalani: No, I’d rather be able to speak any language I want. I think animals already understand us. My dog seems to understand. I know he doesn’t understand everything I say, but sometimes he looks at me when I say something, I can see he got it.

So, I think he must already really understand us more than we think. But I think we as humans don’t understand each other very well. And I think I’ll like to be able to speak the language of others.

Cara: That’s insightful. Oh, that’s good.

All right. Last question for you. If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would you live?

Takalani: Anywhere for a year? We have a small island here in the east of South Africa in the Indian Ocean called Mauritius. I wouldn’t mind spending a year there.

Cara: Yeah. Island life is good life. It’s good living.

I really, once again, appreciate your time today, Takalani, and I pray that this has been a useful time for our listeners and that they are stretched and encouraged to grow and to live as sent people.

It is our practice with the podcast to end our show in prayer. So, would you be willing to do the honors and pray for our churches, pastors, ministry leaders, and members in GCI?

Takalani: Yes. That would be great. Let’s do that.

Cara: Thank you.

Takalani: Okay, let’s pray.

Loving Father, thank you so much for the privilege of being able to participate in what you’re doing in the world. We thank you that you sent Jesus Christ and you saw fit that we can participate in the work that you sent him to do, that we can continue it.

Father, I pray for our brothers and sisters around the world in all the churches of GCI. I just pray that you can help us, even as we learn to become a sent people that understand that we live for mission because you have a purpose for us to be in the world.

You want to reach the world because you don’t want anybody to perish but to be saved, but believe in Jesus Christ. Father, we just pray, therefore, you help us to learn the rhythm of our communities, that we can get involved with our communities. This is something Father that we learn to do. You have done that, even as God, leaving heaven, coming into the world, and entering our space.

Help us, Father, to enter the spaces of our neighbors, the space for our cities, for our villages, that we can understand where they are and how they live. And that even as they go through their daily lives, we can begin to share the good news you have given us in Jesus Christ.

Father, I just pray that you can give the encouragement to all of us, that your heart for the world, what breaks your heart for the world may break our own hearts too. That we can share in the pain that you have to see people perish, to see people living in ignorance. Help us, Father, to share that. That through that, we can also begin to move out into the world, to share that love that moves us, the love of Jesus Christ that is poured out on our hearts.

Thank you, Father, for the privilege of being able to do this. We pray your blessing upon all our people as they participate and grow in this ministry of reaching out with your love into the world. We pray, as always, the name of Jesus Christ who have made it all possible. Amen.

Cara: Amen.


Cara: Now, Charissa, that was a really powerful interview, and I think a great way to end the year.

One of the things that really struck me was the practice of seeing the gospel everywhere. Being able to bear witness to Jesus through anything around you if you’re asked about it, even if it’s just as simple as a steak, right?

What’s something that stood out to you from what Takalani had to share?

Charissa: Other than that steak?

It was a very profound interview. I really don’t know where to start, but I did enjoy that he brought to light the different drives that people have when witnessing whether it’ll be positive or negative. So, in the negative sense when guilt or thinking that God’s incompetent to witness, and it sometimes makes us feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders.

And who gets saved and who doesn’t is also our burden to bear. And it’s a fine line because it can make you passionate. But I feel like it’s a whole task that you think you have to manage alone, and it can eat at you as well. So, I think that was a good reminder to know that there’s a fine line between that and just to be aware.

But I also did like the bit that he talked about how he was privileged to be just alive with that near-death experience that he had. And I think that’s a good reminder that every day is a blessing. And it’s gifted time to continue sharing God’s love and to continue reflecting that in everything we do—even with a steak!

Cara: Yes. Amen. And when we really think and meditate and sit in the love of Christ, it really is compelling, isn’t it? He is so, good. He is so good.

And so, once more for the year, can you share with us about the GCI Place-sharing series?

Charissa: Sure thing. The GCI Place-sharing series explores a practice of place-sharing through interviews, teachings, and a Q&A panel. Visit www.gci.org/placesharing to check it out and learn what place sharing is, why it’s valuable, and how it reflects the ministry of Jesus.

Cara: Thank you so, much. And until next time, you just keep on living and sharing in the gospel.

We want to thank you for listening to this episode of the GC Podcast.  We hope you have found value in it to become a healthier leader. We would love to hear from you. If you have a suggestion on a topic, or if there is someone who you think we should interview, email us at info@gci.org. Remember, healthy churches start with healthy leaders; invest in yourself and your leaders.

 

Sermon for January 1, 2023 – New Year’s Day

Speaking of Life 5006 | The Least of These

While our hearts ache when we encounter a need that we aren’t able to meet, we trust that Jesus knows and will ultimately meet all of our needs. We get the joy of participating in Jesus’ ministry by faithfully caring for one another as we are able and led.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 5006 | The Least of These
Greg Williams

In my travels locally and around the world, it is devastating to see the different forms of poverty that I encounter. On a recent trip to South Africa, a young boy came knocking on the window asking for money while we were stuck in traffic. I wanted to help but I didn’t have any local money. One of the people inside the car gave me a few coins to pass on to the young boy. As soon as I gave the money, a crowd started to form surrounding our car. If you helped one, everyone else came and asked for help. As we drove away, it broke my heart that I couldn’t help them all.

In his humanity, Jesus experienced this too. In his earthly ministry, Jesus healed people that he encountered but he couldn’t heal them all. Healing them was only a short-term solution. Jesus couldn’t devote all of his time to healing people rather he was devoted to preaching the good news about our loving Father who invites us into a relationship and Kingdom where one day every need will be met and all will be made well.

Every day we are confronted with the reality that there is a world full of endless needs. It can get overwhelming just thinking about all the problems that exist in our own tiny part of the planet. We know we cannot solve the world’s problems nor meet all the needs that we constantly see around us, but we can do our part to participate in the work that God is doing in the environs where we inhabit.

In Matthew 25, Jesus lists a group of people who are in dire situations. After mentioning their circumstances, He equates our service to them with meeting his own needs.

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:35-40

The situations that Jesus mentions in this passage of Matthew’s gospel are practical needs, which, if we are honest with ourselves, rarely present themselves to us when it is most convenient. Further, these needs may involve sacrifice on our part. And that’s his point.

Participating in Jesus’ kingdom will often involve sacrificially doing something practical for someone else. This list Jesus presents in Matthew 25 was not meant to be comprehensive. He wants us to look around and see the needs of those around us.

Who are the “least of these” in your own life? Who is God placing on your heart? Have you asked him? I find that the Holy Spirit is oftentimes nudging me, and I am growing to respond more readily.

Here are a few basic ideas to consider. What if you called that friend who is struggling emotionally? How about providing meals to the person in your neighborhood who just went through surgery? What if we walked across the street and took a plate of homemade cookies to a new neighbor? One of our churches in the Philippines has an active program called “Good in the Neighborhood.” I think this is what Jesus had in mind.

Notice that some of the people on Jesus’ list were probably responsible for the predicament that they found themselves in. Does it matter? Let’s remember, it is not our job to weed out the least of these by those we deem as worthy of our help. God’s grace is extended to all.

The idea of a God who is distant and unable to empathize with his creation disappears when we understand that God feels what we feel. That when one of the least of these is cared for, he feels cared for. When one of the least of these feels relief, he is relieved. Caring for others is caring for Christ.

We cannot meet every need we can encounter – and it can be heartbreaking. But we know the One in whom every need is met and we can make a difference when we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to see and meet the needs of others around us. We can’t help everyone, but we can be a blessing to those to whom God directs us to. And that’s making a world of difference.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 8:1-9 • Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 • Revelations 21:1-6a • Matthew 25:31-46

This week’s theme is God is our glorious and benevolent king. In our call to worship Psalm, we are reminded of God’s majesty and how he has crowned us with honor and glory. The writer of Ecclesiastes acknowledges that God has done everything for us from beginning to end. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus talks about coming in his glory, reigning over the nations. And in the book of Revelation, we see God making all things new as he dwells with us, taking his rightful place on the throne.

All Things Made New

Revelations 21:1-6a NRSVUE

Did you know that there are people who will go to a bookstore, pick up a book that looks interesting, and proceed to read the last chapter? If they like the ending, only then will they purchase the book. To some of us, that would ruin the tension; if you give away the ending, there is no reason to read the book.

When it comes to our fate as believers, though, knowing the end of our story is of utmost importance. As characters in this grand saga, we begin our journey of faith knowing the end of the book. Some things in life are too important to just be left in tension.

Near the end of the book of Revelation, John is describing for us a vision of what is to come in the next age – a scene revealed by Jesus Christ that holds amazing beauty and hope. John does three things regarding this vision. He is first seeing, then he is hearing and finally, he is writing. We are going to look at how these three actions involve us today regarding this vision.

Read Revelation 21:1-6a NRSVUE

At the outset, it must be said that the Book of Revelation is what is considered apocalyptic literature. Without going to great lengths to explain what that means, we need to know that John did not possess a holy crystal ball that allowed him to predict the future. Rather, John is revealing what a future where God has restored everything from destruction and evil will look like. We don’t know if God gave John a specific vision or dream, or just inspired the words he wrote. Regardless, it gives us a vision of a restored creation.

John, the Revelator, starts by giving us a glorious picture of a time in which the old things have passed away. These former things were outside of God’s design for mankind. Evil, death, mourning, etc. The things of the old order that we were plagued with are gone.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2 NRSVUE)

John’s initial intended readers were still living in the former times. A time in which trauma and conflict were their reality, as it is for us. But he is showing that after all the human drama, after death and hades has come to an end, then all will be made new.

You may have noticed that the sea is mentioned as being no more. The sea is the only physical feature of the “old earth.”  The sea was viewed by the Israelites as an ominous and threatening force (Psalms 69:1-3, Isaiah 27:1, 51:9-10, Jeremiah 49:23). This passage is not talking about the literal sea. This was symbolic for the seat of evil. The place where the Beast and evil comes from. With the seat of evil being removed, sin and destruction goes with it.

Some feel that the stewardship of our planet isn’t necessary since God will recreate a new world after we have “blown this one to bits.” John is not describing a world “blown to bits;” he is describing a creation that is no longer under decay. Remember, Paul told the believers in Rome that “the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21 NRSVUE).

Someone may well bring up the fact that Paul mentioned that our citizenship is in heaven. But he was not referring to a location. Roman citizens were citizens wherever they went. In fact, retired Roman soldiers were encouraged to live well outside of Rome. But they were to bring their Roman citizenship with them wherever they happened to be.

John is seeing that heaven and earth are not in competition with each other, but are made for each other. He is showing us that all things in heaven and earth are summed up in Christ. All of creation is caught up in Jesus’ resurrection. He is not saying everything is being replaced. Rather, it is being made new. God has not and will not abandon what he has created.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 NRSVUE)

Notice the difference in inspiration here? John is now hearing something. And what John hears is just how intimate God is with his creation.

Just as Jesus came to earth and lived among us, so too all of heaven now comes down to us. Christ ascended to the Father, but in the fullness of time he will finally make his dwelling with us once again, but this time it will be forever.

There will only exist the rulership of Christ at that time.  He will reign over us with love and mercy. We will know his ways and live in harmony one towards another. All of heaven will come with him. All will be made right.

We will make our abode with Christ, not back in Eden, but in a city whose maker is God. A place that is teeming with life and relationship. We become a holy thriving community with Christ as our loving, just king.

Verse 4 indicates that every tear we have shed will be healed by God. All that has ever caused us pain will be redeemed. Imagine never having to grieve again — to never feel pain again, to never be hurt or to suffer. It is beyond our human comprehension, but this is what John is hearing from the voice of God.

John is hearing about a world where there is no more war or economic systems of oppression. Where tyrants and evil rulers will no longer have their way. God’s economy is the only system that can be sustained for eternity. John wants us to hear that there is a world coming that will finally be made right.

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 21:5-6a NRSVUE)

Up until now John has been passive. He has been seeing. He has been hearing, but now he is asked to do something. He is asked to take action. He is asked to testify, to write down all that has been shown to him, all that he has heard from God.

This new creation of God is happening now in a world that has little understanding of its reality. We are called to act upon what we see and what we hear. We are called to carry forth the working of the new creation

All that we do through Christ, and by his Spirit, is in concert with the new creation. Every work of reconciliation, of healing others, of sharing God’s love, is participating with heaven coming to earth. Of removing the old and ushering in the new.

In the midst of our mourning, of seeing all the pain and death, what gives you hope? Though we are still going through all these things, we have a God who says that he is wiping away all our tears. That it is a done deal! Even now, his healing, redeeming power is breaking through.

Are you able to see the old things of your past being shed from you? In its place, are you seeing the newness that God is bringing into your life? Have you been listening to the voice of God that tells you about his intimate love for you? That he makes his dwelling with you?

We can take courage knowing that what we are currently going through is not the end of our story. Far from it. We may not be exempt from the suffering in this life, but we can walk through it knowing that Jesus dwells with us and knowing that the world is being made new and right despite what we might currently see and hear.

Know this, that the former things that have damaged us are being healed. We have his great promise that he will dwell with us and that we will be his people. He will be faithful to do all that he has said. Even now, he is preparing his church as a bride that he might receive us with joy. From beginning to end, all of this is being accomplished through Christ. Behold, he is making all things new!

Not Today, Satan w/ Dishon Mills W1

February 5 – Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 5:13-20, “Salty”

CLICK HERE to listen to the whole podcast.


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Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life
  • What are some practical needs you can help others with?
  • How do you discern if you are being called to meet a need?
  • How do you feel when someone who created their own problem asks for your help?
  • How is your church currently helping the least of these?
From the sermon
  • How does knowing our ultimate end encourage you?
  • What are you looking forward to God making new?
  • How does this passage of scripture influence your desire to share the good news with others?
  • Were you challenged to consider the afterlife in a different way after hearing this sermon? If so, how?

Sermon for January 8, 2023 – Baptism of Our Lord

Speaking of Life 5007 | Jesus is Our Hope

Every time we check our favorite news app, scroll through social media, our daily newspaper, or turn on the TV, we are likely to run into some form of bad news that can leave us disheartened. The prophet Isaiah reminds us to lift our eyes to the one who never fails when everything else does. Jesus is always ready to embrace us in his loving arms. He is our one true hope.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 5007 | Jesus is Our Hope
Cara Garrity

Have you ever felt soul-weary with the state of the world or the state of your personal corner of the world? With news of war, disease, scandal, division, and suffering it may feel too easy to be disheartened in this world. To be sure, there is beauty and joy all around us – just catch a sunset, children at play, or the waves upon the shore to be reminded of this. Even so, on our most weary and suffer-saturated days, we may find ourselves questioning if the despair outweighs the beauty.

Even when it seems like solutions to our problems are clear or easy answers are promised over and over again, we find that our willpower falls short of making things right. We’ve been disappointed in our leaders—political, business, even religious—who we expected to lead us towards brighter futures. We’ve been disappointed in ourselves when we’ve failed to contribute to a better world. The truth is, at one point or another, human beings let each other down. If we are honest with ourselves, we might admit that sometimes we lose hope in one another and in this world.  

The good news is, there is one in whom we can securely place our hope. There is one who will never let us down. There is one who makes all things right. His name is Jesus. He is our hope.

Let’s look at what is written in the book of Isaiah about Jesus:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
Isaiah 42:1-4a

Our hope is secure in Jesus. While we may experience and witness despair in this world, we know despair will not have the last word because Jesus will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on Earth. He is making all things new. While we will not see the complete restoration of all things until the kingdom of God comes in its fullness, we can trust Jesus’ proclamation that the kingdom is here and bear witness to the aromas of Jesus’ kingdom and present ministry in our midst even now.

Next time you feel as though despair is outweighing the beauty of this world, look to Jesus – the one who gives us beauty for ashes. Know that even when our hope falters, he never will. Jesus is our hope, and he will not let us down.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 29:1-11 • Isaiah 42:1-9 • Acts 10:34-43 • Matthew 3:13-17

This Sunday, we celebrate the baptism of the Lord, remembering the day that Jesus was baptized on our behalf. It is the first Sunday after Epiphany and serves as a bookend — along with Transfiguration Sunday — to the Epiphany season. Jesus’ baptism revealed something very important about him and about human beings. Christ lived a sinless life, so he did not need to be cleansed of his sins through baptism. Yet, he submitted to the sacrament so that we, in him, could be free from sin. Therefore, the theme for this week is Jesus is our righteousness. The passage in Psalms speaks about the power of God, especially his power to defeat evil (symbolized by the waters or sea). In Isaiah, the Messiah (Jesus) is foretold to be an instrument of God’s justice even though he would face opposition. In Acts, Peter bore witness that Jesus was both Messiah and God. In Matthew, we read about how Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.

Righteousness Fulfilled

Matthew 3:13-17

According to the liturgical calendar, today we commemorate the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, a day when we remember and celebrate Jesus’ baptism. If you are like me, thinking about Jesus’ baptism will bring your own baptism to mind. For those of us who have undergone this sacrament, the ceremony was no doubt very meaningful. We go down into the water and come up new, symbolically leaving the “old man,” or your old self, dead in the water. Hallelujah! But have you ever noticed that the old self — the part of us that is oriented away from God — does not do a very good job of staying dead? Like a horror movie villain, it seems like my old self keeps reanimating no matter how many times I think it has been destroyed. Even though I have been walking with Christ for some time now, the old self somehow knows how to get out of the water and push my new self to the background. When the old self takes over, it can do serious damage to my relationships and spiritual health, so I want it to stay in the water. I want it to stay dead. Unfortunately, my old self does not want to stay dead. Sometimes I feel like I will never be free of my bad thoughts and habits. Can you relate to what I am sharing? I think all Christians can relate to some extent.

Unfortunately, many believers carry guilt and shame because their old selves don’t seem to stay dead. In many Christian circles, a toxic perfectionism has taken root, where some believe that once we start following Jesus, we should stop sinning. Period. Those with this mindset think that our love for Christ should automatically turn off our desire for sinful things, and they are deeply disappointed with themselves when their righteousness falters. This leads to inauthenticity, because the natural response is to hide one’s mistakes and failings so one does not appear to be “un-Christian.” Therefore, toxic perfectionism causes those who suffer from it to wear a Christian mask to hide their sin, guilt, and shame. They often carry anxiety because they fear being discovered as a Christian fraud. It is a heavy burden.

This is not the freedom offered to us in Jesus Christ. The gospel message is not, “Christ died so that we can make ourselves new.” The good news is that Christ died to make us new. It is by his crucifixion and resurrection that we have been declared righteous. As a result, we are liberated from the burden of crafting our own righteousness, which can be understood as correct thinking and behavior that flows from our proper relationship with God. We do not have to wear a mask and hide ourselves. Christ is our righteousness. He was and is perfect for us. The challenge is to accept the grace God offers and live in it, which is often easier said than done.

This truth can be seen in Jesus’ baptism. Let’s read the account as it is recorded in Matthew.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17 NIV)

When Jesus appeared before John the Baptist, the prophet gave voice to all humanity’s brokenness when he said, “I need to be baptized by you.” He gave the response that all of us should give when we encounter the Divine. When Jesus reveals himself to us, we are revealed to ourselves. This can be liberating because we see that we are loved and accepted, that we have a purpose, and an eternal place in Christ. On the other hand, when Jesus reveals us, it is also humbling because we see our vast imperfection in the light of his perfection. We see our unworthiness of grace. We more clearly see the contrast between our corruption and his wholeness. In opposition to his true humanity, we see the extent to which the old self is still alive and well in us. If we have any awareness, when we stand face-to-face with Christ the natural human response is, “I need to be made clean!” Like Isaiah, we cry, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Like Peter, we fall to our knees and say, “Go away from me, Lord; I’m a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

In truth, Jesus had every right to stand next to John telling the people that they needed to repent. He was morally superior in every way, so he had the right to stand apart from humanity. However, Jesus did not stand apart; he stood in line. He stood in the same line as those created in his image, waiting his turn to be baptized. Jesus’ baptism represented the baptism for all of humanity. Although he was perfect, he allied himself with sinners. Although he was the Savior, he numbered himself among the ones needing salvation. This is why John the Baptist was taken by surprise when he saw Jesus in line. The idea that Jesus waited in the hot sun to receive a baptism that was inferior to the baptism the Messiah offered was absurd. Jesus came to baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire! Perhaps in John’s mind, all he had to offer was muddy water. What need did Christ have for John’s baptism for the forgiveness of sins when Jesus committed no sin? What sense did it make for John, an imperfect and corrupted man, to baptize the moral ideal? John spoke truly when he said, “I need to be baptized by you.”

Christ did not tell John the Baptist that he was wrong. Jesus did not downplay John’s sin because the Eternal Son cannot lie. John, as the Baptizer, did need to be cleansed. John’s assessment of the righteous distance between Jesus and him was correct. However, John’s failings were not the focus of Christ and his baptism. Instead, Jesus was concerned with making all humanity whole. That is not to say that Jesus was cavalier about sin. Sin is devastating to humanity, and God hates it because of what it does to us. Jesus is not, and has never been, blind to sin. However, God does not look at us through the lens of our brokenness; he looks at us through the lens of who we are becoming in Christ.

Jesus, therefore, tells John to go ahead with the baptism in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” Again, righteousness can be thought of as the correct thinking and behavior that flows from our proper relationship with God. Since the Fall when Adam and Eve sinned, humanity has been improperly relating to the Father, Son, and Spirit. Our distorted relationship with God corrupted our righteousness — God is the source of all righteousness and there is no true righteousness apart from him. To hide our nakedness, human beings often wrap themselves in self-righteousness, wearing a facade that makes others see them as morally superior. Righteousness is focused on God and being a blessing to others. The distortion of righteousness is self-righteousness, and it is focused on self and seeks to justify its own behavior.

When Jesus spoke about fulfilling all righteousness, he implied that humanity was in debt when it came to righteousness. We were created in God’s image, created to be in relationship with him. This should help humanity more closely resemble Christ in thought and action. But with the Fall that originated with Adam and Eve, sin entered the picture and made that perfect relationship an impossibility. We entered into unrighteousness, both in our relationship with God and with each other. Therefore, when Christ declared that he was fulfilling all righteousness, he announced that he was paying our righteousness debt. This is a stunning statement!

Think about the number of times righteousness was required and a human being failed to deliver. I cannot count the number of times when the Holy Spirit prompted me to do a good thing, and I did not do it. It would take a team of mathematicians to even begin to count the number of times I failed to listen to the warnings the Holy Spirit gave me to not commit a sinful act. There is no way to calculate the number of thoughts that are unworthy of God that I think on a daily basis. My righteousness debt is so large, it is beyond comprehension. Now, multiply that times every man, woman, and child who has ever and will ever live. If we could do that, we would only begin to sketch the outlines of the unfathomable miracle of salvation.

Jesus fulfills all righteousness. That means you and I do not have to try to be perfect. We do not have to carry the guilt and shame of our sin. We do not have to try to be righteous. We have been made righteous by Christ. But what do we do about the old self? Aren’t we supposed to focus on overcoming sin? The surprising answer is, “No!” When we try to stop sinning by our own effort, our focus is on ourselves. In essence, we are saying we can fix ourselves with the same corrupted mind and heart that caused us to sin in the first place. It is not possible. Making us like Christ is a God-sized job, and we have to internalize the truth that we cannot make ourselves good. Jesus fulfills all righteousness. He is the one (and only one) who can pay our righteousness debt. He can fulfill all righteousness because he is our righteousness.

Once we accept that Jesus is our righteousness, we have to learn how to live in that reality. If we cannot make ourselves stop sinning, what are we supposed to do? We stop sinful thoughts and actions not by focusing on ourselves, but by orienting on God. We can orient ourselves on God in three ways: acknowledging our need for Jesus to be our righteousness, submitting and actively participating in the work of the Spirit to conform our thoughts and actions to Christ, and making room for God in our daily lives. Let me say a bit more about each of these.

Acknowledging our need for Jesus to be our righteousness

When we acknowledge our need for Jesus to be our righteousness, we turn to God when confronted with our sin. When we see the ways we do not conform to Christ, instead of turning inward, we humbly bend our knee to the throne of grace. Without reservation, we admit our failure to God, confessing that only he could make us whole. This is what John the Baptist did when he admitted, “I need to be baptized by you.” We proactively acknowledge our need for Jesus to be our righteousness by praying for God to show us ways in which we miss the mark. That may be a hard prayer for many of us to pray because we do not like seeing our own sins. We may be influenced by that toxic perfectionism and be tempted to feel guilt and shame. However, if Jesus is your righteousness, there is no need for shame because Jesus has already paid your righteousness debt. Having faith in God, in this case, means believing that if God reveals your sin to you, he is ready and willing to deal with it. Our realization of a particular sin is the first step in our liberation from that sin.

Submitting and actively participating in the work of the Spirit to conform our thoughts and actions to Christ

Next, we can orient ourselves on God by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us to the spaces where we can be discipled and spiritually formed. In the story of Jesus’ baptism, we see this lived out by John the Baptist when Matthew offers the simple statement, “Then John consented.” John listened to Jesus, and then submitted to being led by Christ. Practically speaking, this would call on us to participate in discipleship activities and groups (which we refer to as “Faith Avenue”), regularly worshiping Jesus and celebrating the hope we have in him (Hope Avenue), and bearing witness through words and demonstrations to the good news about the King and his kingdom (Love Avenue). These are the things that transform us and renew our minds. These are also the things that fulfill the purpose of the church — the things the church is commanded to do. As we, with our fellow believers, are led by the Spirit to do the things that Jesus commanded, we become more conformed to Christ. The old self is uprooted as Christ takes his proper place in our mind and heart.

Making room for God in our daily lives  

Finally, we can orient ourselves on God by practicing the spiritual disciplines. I like to call it either spending time with God or practicing turning towards God. Whatever you call it, we want to carve out time every day to let God reveal himself to us. We want to get our minds off ourselves and our agenda and focus on him. We should take time to deepen our relationship with God, realizing more and more his deep, abiding love for us.

The story of Jesus’ baptism ends with the amazing revelation of the Holy Spirit and the Father. John’s obedience to Christ led him to experience the love that exists within the Trinity. Those who bore witness to the loving relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit were given greater insight into who Jesus was — the beloved Son who pleased the Father. Similarly, when we make room to experience the love of the Trinity, we too are graced with a more complete understanding of Christ. The more we learn who Christ is, the more we are transformed and more greatly resemble him.

On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, let us celebrate our freedom in Christ. There is no need for shame because Jesus has paid our righteousness debt. We are free from having to fix ourselves because Jesus is on the job. Christ made himself to be one of us in order to be our righteousness. We do not have to be ashamed when our old self makes an appearance because we have faith that Jesus is making everything new.

Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz W2

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January 8 – First Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 3:13-17, “I Am Well Pleased”

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Program Transcript


Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz W2

Anthony: Let’s transition to our next passage, which is Matthew 3:13-17 [NIV]. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for the baptism of our Lord, which is on January the 8th.

Julie, would you read it for us please?

Julie: Yes. Starting in verse 13,

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Anthony: So, Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness according to this passage. So how should this bless us personally, if at all, and bless those that we share the gospel with?

Julie: We have to remember that in his incarnation, Jesus immersed us into our world, and he reveals a God with us.

In his baptism, humanity is included and immersed into his world where he is our representative. He is the one who responds perfectly to the love of the Father. The weight of being righteous is not ours to bear.

The blessedness of that, the blessedness of Jesus on our behalf has stood in our place. He has included us in his faithfulness. I would call this blessed assurance.

Anthony: Right on. And it says that God the Father, loves and is pleased with God the Son. I think all of us want to hear that, right? That God loves us and is pleased with us.

So let me ask you this. Are we just bystanders to this love relationship? Or participants in some way, whether we recognize it or not? And should the water baptism of Jesus lead us to baptism?

Julie: There’s some things going on in this scripture that’s really incredible. They have sat there and the people on the shore have witnessed people being baptized, and they’re observing this from a distance. And then they themselves are going in and being baptized.

And here we have John—he’s recognizing Jesus standing before him and he is not following a hundred percent why Jesus is wanting to be baptized here in this moment. And it’s in this baptism of Christ that we see that atoning relationship. It’s where we no longer are bystanders.

The one who takes us into his own divine life brings us into perfect communion with Father, Son, and Spirit.

Yeah, and go ahead. I’m sorry.

Anthony: Can you speak to that communion? I’ve heard a theologian once say jokingly, but to make a point that, in this passage we see the Trinity, but the Trinity is not just two guys and a bird. There’s so much more going on.

Can you talk about the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit and how we are in any way connected to it?

Julie: We’re connected to it by grace alone, by what Jesus has done on our behalf. Creation was created out of love. The Father, Son, and Spirit relationship of God says, let us create, let us do this.

And then they celebrate. It’s a celebration of what has occurred within that relationship; this creation that God declares joy over. And we have a relationship where it is for the Father that Jesus acts, he acts in response to the Father.

They’re constantly feeding one another, responding to one another, constantly that other focus. It’s really interesting. It’s a very giving love that is seeking to love, that is seeking to be, that is seeking to know.

And Jesus lays down himself that we can be included in that. So, he seeks that we would know him, other-focused, lays himself down that we would experience that perfect communion with Father. With a Father who says, I love you. A father who says, it is you that I am well pleased.

And it’s just a really beautiful moment and I think of the sacraments of baptism. There’s a book; it’s titled, In Faith Seeking Understanding, and it’s written by Daniel Migliore. And he describes the sacraments as embodiments of grace and goes on to say that “they are palpable enactments of the gospel by means of which the Spirit of God confirms to us the forgiving, renewing, and promising love of God in Jesus Christ and enlivens us in faith, hope, and love.”

This relationship of promise and love and faithfulness and grace, and mercy and forgiveness and renewing. I don’t know that there are enough words to describe this relationship of God, but I think those are some pretty good ones.

Anthony: They are. And all of our God-talk, our words about God, they’re an approximation, right? We just do the best we can, but those are very good words to express the reality of Father, Son, and Spirit and our participation in that, including baptism, which is just a beautiful expression of the gift of faith that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.


Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life
  • Have you ever felt disheartened by the state of the world? If so, what are some things that bother you?
  • Can you see ways in which Christ is currently or will eventually resolve the situations that were mentioned?
From the sermon
  • Does your “old self” still try to make an appearance at times? How does that make you feel?
  • What do you think it was like for John the Baptist to baptize Jesus? How would you feel if you were John?
  • What is liberating about realizing that Jesus is our righteousness? Is any part of it challenging?

Sermon for January 15, 2023 – Second Sunday after the Epiphany

We easily give applause when we experience something wonderful in our lives. And sometimes it can leave us speechless when we encounter the same overwhelming feeling when we grow to know God to greater depths.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 5008 | More Than I Can Say
Greg Williams

Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison wrote a song called “More Than I Can Say” back in 1959. And it went on to be performed by Leo Sayer, who rode the song to the top of the billboards back in the 80s.

The lyrics were simple and repetitive. Here are the opening lines:

I love you more than I can say

I’ll love you twice as much tomorrow

Oh, love you more than I can say

Set to a catchy tune, this song will get stuck in your head for days. In addition, we can all identify with the experience of loving someone or something “more than we can say.”

Or, maybe it’s more than that. Perhaps this little ditty resonates with us at a far deeper level.

After all, praising comes quite easy for us does it not? Have you ever been startled by a streaking star shooting through the night sky that made you shout, “Wow! Look at that”? Or maybe the sighting of that rare double rainbow after a storm that turns everyone’s attention skyward with utterances of “oohs” and “ahhs.” It seems praise comes naturally when we are encountered with something amazing or beautiful.

“More Than I Can Say” may have been written back in 1959 but this is not the first time a songwriter has attempted to praise someone beyond words. Look at this lyric in Psalm 40 which is a thanksgiving Psalm:

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

Psalm 40:5 (ESV)

When we come to know God for who he truly is, we too will be compelled to praise him “more than we can say.” That’s the blessed life we are created for. Praising God for all eternity means we are in the presence and in a relationship with One who is praiseworthy beyond words. We come to know this God only in Jesus Christ, who reveals this Father to us by the Spirit. The more we come to know our Triune God, the more our praise will naturally pour forth. And scripture indicates that this song of praise will get stuck in our heads for all eternity. After all, God is good…well…more than I can say.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 40:1-11 • Isaiah 49:1-7 • 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 • John 1:29-42

This week’s theme is a call to faithfulness. The call to worship Psalm expresses thanksgiving to God for his faithful deliverance. The Old Testament reading from Isaiah recounts the calling of the servant to be a light to the nations. The text in Corinthians records Paul’s introductory remarks to a letter calling a wayward church back to faithful obedience. In the Gospel reading from John, we have Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist who bears witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God, which calls others to follow him.

Faithful to the End

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (NRSVUE)

Today, for the Second Sunday of Epiphany, we have the opportunity to read someone else’s mail. It comes from a letter written to the church in Corinth, and it’s a juicy read. If it weren’t part of the canon of scripture, I suspect we would blush a bit at the thought of peeping into a private letter written to another church. After all, it’s none of our business what’s going on in the church down the road, right? But the Holy Spirit has inspired this letter not only to be read in this one particular church, but to be included in the Bible for all churches to read. And, it turns out to be a selected reading for Epiphany. So, we can conclude that whatever it contains sheds some light on who God is as revealed in Jesus Christ. So, let’s take a peep.

Today’s text includes Paul’s introductory remarks for a letter of correction sent to the church in Corinth. I can’t think of many people who like to be corrected, but I think it’s safe to say that even fewer like doing the correcting. Paul is in the position that he must confront this congregation in Corinth on a vast array of issues. These issues seem to be stemming from a fair amount of accommodation to the culture around the church.

The city of Corinth was a crossroads of Greece for commerce. The city was near an overland route for seafaring boats to be rolled on logs as a shortcut to save time sailing all around the Peloponnese peninsula. Corinth had become a diverse city with many different peoples and their deities. Corinth was also known to be morally corrupt. Perhaps we feel safe to air out the issues of a church from the past in a city that is no longer around. But, if we are honest with ourselves, this description of Corinth sounds embarrassingly similar to nearly every city in western society.

The problem with the church in Corinth unfortunately was the culture of the city was showing up in the life of the church. Surely that is not the case for our church, right? Well, we don’t have to answer that. Thankfully, we can address the issue of succumbing to cultural pressures from the safety of a letter written to someone else, admitting that it is also written for us today. And, let’s face it, we would be naïve to think this letter doesn’t hit its mark in our own congregations in one way or another. So, maybe as we read Paul introducing his first letter to the church in Corinth, we can open our ears as if he is writing to us.

Paul, who had planted the church in Corinth four or five years earlier, sets out to address 11 specific issues the church in Corinth is dealing with, ranging from divisions, sexual morality, lawsuits, worship wars, marriage, and women’s role in the church, just to name a sampling. That’s a lot of issues Paul will have to cover. We may feel a bit of comfort being able to scratch off a few of the issues in Paul’s list that do not pertain to us. Whew! But, some of them may hit their target. More than that, the issues all stem from the same problem. Putting our faith somewhere other than the Lord Jesus Christ. With that said, I don’t think we can find too much distance between our brothers and sisters in Corinth and those of us hearing this letter in our current location. Let’s see how Paul chooses to introduce such a letter.

As we go through these nine short verses you will notice that before Paul speaks a single word of correction, he mentions the name of Jesus Christ eight times – at least in the translation we are using. That gives us a clue as how Paul intends to address the issues troubling our churches and each of us individually. For Paul, it appears that whatever list of problems we may be challenged with, the answer to each and every one is always the same—Jesus.

Let’s see how Paul begins:

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. (1 Corinthians 1:1-2 NRSVUE)

Paul first identifies himself as one who is called to his role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and states that this calling is by the will of God. He also includes Sosthenes in the address. Paul is not speaking on his own. This positions Paul’s letter to be read with the understanding that these issues Paul is going to address is primarily between the church and God. They cannot dismiss his correction as a simple personality conflict or use some other scapegoat. It’s far deeper than that. We may be tempted to dismiss many of our conflicts with others, especially those called to speak God’s word to us, as mere personality conflicts. “We just don’t see eye to eye,” or “He just doesn’t like me for some reason.” It’s our propensity to justify ourselves when faced with correction. Paul’s introduction doesn’t allow room for such maneuvering based on personalities.

Paul then identifies this church as “the church of God that is in Corinth.” The location of the church is secondary to their true identity. They belong to God. With all the problems facing the Corinthian Christians, Paul still refers to them as “sanctified…and called to be saints.” This means they had been set apart for God’s purposes. They were called along with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.” Their calling was a shared calling among all the churches. Even with all their struggles and challenges, God’s call to them remained, and they still had a place and purpose in the body of Christ. It may be for us as well that we need the reminder that our personal congregation or denomination does not stand in isolation. We belong to the body of Christ, which spans the globe as well as history. What we do in our little corner of the globe as a congregation effects the witness of the entire body. No church or individual believer is called to walk alone.

Now, Paul will begin to address the Corinthian church more directly and personally:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3-7 NRSVUE)

Paul speaks “Grace and peace” to the church and goes on to say he is thankful for them. His thankfulness is not grounded in what the church has to give, but in what it has been given—grace. Paul does not want them to remain in their state of disgraceful living, but rather receive the grace already theirs in Jesus Christ. The correction he speaks to them throughout the letter will be Paul’s way of holding them to grace. Often when we hear the word “grace,” we may be tempted to think that someone is making an exception to their way of living. But this is not the grace we see in Jesus Christ.

God’s grace extended to us in Jesus did not just look at our sins and say, “Oh, I’ll make an exception in this case, and just overlook your sin.” That’s not a grace that does us any good at all. Jesus did not come to “overlook” our sins. He came to destroy our sins and to remove them as far as the east is from the west. So, when Paul brings up all the issues that need to be addressed, he is actually holding them to grace. He is not treating them as if their sins are trifle matters. To do so would be to treat them as trifle objects of God’s love. God loves us enough not to let us continue in our sins. His grace moves to remove the sin and deal with it for good.

He goes on from here to confirm their calling by pointing out their gifts of grace. He speaks truth into their lives by reminding them that they “do not lack any gift.” Paul can point to the reality that God has been at work in their lives. And on that ground, Paul can be thankful that God is not done with them, and God will complete what he started. That can be an encouraging reminder to us as well when we look at our lives and see a list of issues we are still struggling with. If we can see God’s work in our lives at any point in the past, (and even if we can’t see it, others often can), we can be assured that he is still working and will not quit. This motivates us to learn to cooperate and not resist the work he is doing.

Paul concludes his introduction with further encouragement:

He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by him you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:8-9 NRSVUE)

Paul wraps up his introductory remarks by focusing their attention on Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who will “strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again, Paul is reminding us that Jesus is the one who will see our calling through to the end. Jesus never loses sight of the goal or purpose of where he is taking us. Even if our lives start looking more like the surrounding culture out of which we have been called, Jesus calls us back to himself. He will not be satisfied with our self-satisfaction. He intends to make us perfect.

He concludes this introduction to this letter to the Corinthians with the reminder, God is faithful; by him you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” It’s God’s faithfulness that gets the last word. As we view this passage in the season of Epiphany there is a message of answering God’s call in our lives that will lead to seeing and experiencing the triune God more fully. The old saying stands true, “obedience unlocks understanding.” As we faithfully respond to God’s call in all the various ways we hear it, we can be sure that we will be opening ourselves up to receive the blessings of knowing him more. We grow in seeing and experiencing God’s faithfulness to us. He comes through every time.

But, if we continue in disobedience, favoring our way of doing things or settling for the approval of our culture over the approval of God, then we will not have the privilege of seeing God’s faithfulness to us. Our actions don’t mean he is not faithful, but it does mean we will not experience the freedom that comes with living out of that faithfulness.

There’s an illustration told that captures this experience quite well. There was a man who had to cross a frozen lake. As he is trying to cross the lake, he is fearful the ice will break, and he will fall through. So, he crawls slowly across the frozen lake, making painfully little progress in his journey. But then he sees a wagon carrying a load of timber pulled by a team of horses gallop past him on the ice. It was then he realized the ice would hold, and he was able to walk in freedom. So it is with us. It is not our faith in the ice that keeps us from falling through. It is the unbreakable ice holding us up that enables us to walk in freedom. Every step of obedience in our walk with the Lord will be one more step that lets us know the ice holds. He is faithful to us, and we grow by putting our trust in his faithful hands. Soon, we too will be galloping unhindered in our journey with him to the other side of the lake. God is faithful to the end.


Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life
  • Can you think of other examples that naturally elicit a response of praise?
  • Discuss how the song, “More Than I Can Say,” resonates with a believer’s response of praise of God.
  • Has praising God for all eternity ever sounded like a bore or drudgery to you? Did the video help you see praise in a different light? If so, how?
From the Sermon
  • Do you prefer being corrected or doing the correcting?
  • What similarities do you see in your city or town and that of Corinth?
  • Were you able to identify in some way to the list of problems facing the Corinthian church?
  • What did you make of Paul using Jesus’ name eight times in his introduction to his letter?
  • What difference is made by knowing your church does not exist in isolation but is part of the wider Body of Christ?
  • How does walking in obedience increase our faith?

Sermon for January 22, 2023 – Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Speaking Of Life 5009 │ Are You Afraid of the Dark?

As kids or even as adults, some of us might have felt scared of being in the dark. Science tells us that we need the dark for good health because light exposure at night can affect our bodies’ internal sleep rhythms and hormones. Comparably, in our Christian journey, experiencing troubles or trials is natural. Don’t let this discourage you. Christ is here with us. Even though we experience darkness in life, we can always be assured that he will bring us back to the light.

Program Transcript


Speaking Of Life 5009 Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Michelle Fleming

As a small child, I was a little afraid of the dark. This is a common fear for most young children, and experts attribute it to a toddler’s growing cognitive abilities—including the development of the imagination. The dark becomes a place where monsters live, and fear creeps into a child’s mind.

As adults, we know we need the dark for good health, and light exposure at night can affect our bodies’ internal sleep rhythms and hormones, like melatonin. Children, though, have to develop trust that darkness can be good for us.

In scripture, God’s presence is sometimes referred to as light and God’s absence as darkness. This can give us a mistaken impression of what the faithful Christian walk looks like. We can mistakenly think that when we experience doubt or difficulties, we are in darkness and God has left us. One biblical passage that shows the wide range of the Christian experience is Psalm 27. It begins like this:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27: 1 (NRSV)

This is what we think of when we define faith in God. We believe that in this world of great beauty and great suffering, God is with us, and we don’t need to be afraid. But the truth is, we often are afraid or worried. Does that mean our faith is weak?

Let’s consider some other verses in the same Psalm:

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! ‘Come’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
Psalm 27:7-9 (NRSV)

These verses seem to be a sharp contrast to the over-the-top faith of the first verse. Here, the psalmist speaks of his pain and his fear, but he isn’t worried that his lament will drive God off. Instead, the psalmist helps us understand that part of faith is believing in God’s faithfulness even when that faithfulness doesn’t feel present. Even in the midst of doubt.

Trust in God doesn’t prevent hardship or keep us from experiencing times when God feels distant. We can find examples in the Bible, like this one, or in the lives of the early church fathers that illustrate how we can experience what has been called “the dark night of the soul.” God understands that faith and doubt are not opposites. In fact, questioning our faith can often lead to growth and transformation. Like light and dark, faith and doubt need each other.

When we were small children, we had to learn that the dark would not hurt us. We had to understand that we needed darkness to sleep and to be healthy. Similarly, as Christians, we learn that doubt and questioning can be our means toward growth in our relationship with God.

“Being afraid of the dark” is a normal part of faith. Let us continue to grow in our understanding that the Light of our Salvation, our living Triune God, is always there to lead us from darkness into his light.

I’m Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 27:1, 4-9 • Isaiah 9:1-4 • I Corinthians 1:10-18 • Matthew 4:12-23

The theme for this week is not us and them, but all of us. Our call to worship in Psalm 27 presents the inclusive full range of a Christian’s experience, including the high points of faith and the low points of lament and doubt. Isaiah 9 focuses on our release from oppression, whether it comes from within us or without, by our Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace. In Matthew 4, Jesus calls Simon Peter and his brother Andrew to become fishers of people, snagging hurting hearts with the good news of God’s love and acceptance of all people. Our sermon text is 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 which addresses the problem of tribalism and how we can solve it.

The Problem of Me Versus You

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 (NRSV)

You’ve probably heard it said that American culture is the most litigious or eager to sue in the world. According to the February 2022 Electronic Journal of Comparative Law, 40 million lawsuits are filed in the U.S. every year. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that some of the lawsuits are pretty frivolous. Here’s a selection of the best ones:

  • An inmate sues himself: Inmate Robert Brock filed a lawsuit against himself in 1995 for the violation of his own civil rights. Apparently, Brock’s religion didn’t allow the consumption of alcohol, and because he consumed alcohol anyway, Brock committed breaking and entering as well as grand larceny. Brock says that he “caused [himself] to violate [his] religious beliefs,” so he sued himself. Because he was incarcerated, he insisted that the State of Virginia pay the $5 million for him. The case was dismissed.
  • A man sues Michael Jordan for looking like him: In 2006, Allen Heckard filed a lawsuit against Nike founder Phil Knight and Michael Jordan. Half of the $832 million lawsuit was for Jordan having similar facial features and the other half was because Nike made Jordan into an easily recognizable celebrity. Heckard had been mistaken for Jordan for fifteen years and said it had caused him “emotional pain and suffering, defamation, and personal injury.” Ultimately, Heckard dropped the lawsuit.
  • A high school student sues because he was woken up during class: In 2008, a sixteen-year-old high school student in Connecticut fell asleep in class but woke up when his math teacher smacked her hand on his desk. The boy’s parents sued the high school, the board of education, and the city because they said the boy had suffered “severe injuries to his left eardrum.” The case was dismissed.

While there are some legitimate lawsuits, sometimes we find ourselves at odds with others and have a hard time dealing with someone whose views, likes, and lifestyle differ from ours. We feel threatened by a different point of view and want to fight back.

These tendencies are not new as we’ll see in our sermon text in 1 Corinthians 1:10-18. Read More

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In this first letter to the Corinthians, Paul notes that he has heard from Chloe’s family that the church is playing the game, “Pick Your Favorite Evangelist.” It’s a game that has no winners, but it does show us that as human beings, we have a tendency toward tribalism. Tribalism happens when we see ourselves and our point of view as the only right way, and then we gather together with blind, group loyalty to those who think like we do. Sometimes our enthusiastic allegiance is harmless and even fun, such as sports team rivalries. But other times, it can make us forget our commitment to live as Jesus did and share the love of God on earth.

What are the symptoms of tribalism based on 1 Corinthians 1:10-18?

  • Being unwilling or unable to get along with others who think differently (v. 10)
  • Quarreling over differences (v. 11)
  • Picking sides on an issue and trying to rally those who have picked your side, excluding those who disagree (v. 12)
  • Seeing individualism and personal opinion as more important than unity in Christ (v. 13-16)

Paul reminds the Corinthians that the gospel was not preached, and people were not baptized to compare the “quality” of their salvation with others. In contrast to some preachers today, Paul was not trying to collect a following for himself, but to share with people what Jesus had done. In Paul’s view, his lack of skill as a speaker was a plus because there was nothing but the beauty of Christ’s self-emptying on the cross to attract believers.

When people are caught up in tribalism, they want to be thought of as “winners,” not losers. They want their team, their candidate, their issue to win, whatever winning might look like in their context. In American culture, being a winner is important, and individualism is a closely held value. Regardless of where we live, however, we must examine the cultural narrative that we have absorbed, often unconsciously, and we must question how it fits within our greater narrative, our identity as a child of God, living on God’s earth with other children of God.

What’s the antidote to unhealthy tribalism in the church?

Paul explains what Christians must do: focus on the self-emptying character of Jesus and place all other issues within that framework, “so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power” (v. 17). Seminary of the Southwest Assistant Professor Jane Lancaster Patterson notes that though many English translations of v. 17 use the wording “to proclaim the gospel,” the Greek uses a simple verb “to gospel” (euangelizomai), meaning “Christ did not send me to baptize but to gospel.” She suggests that Paul’s most effective gospeling may not have been preaching at all, but “the ways he treated people when they gathered for the Lord’s Supper or in his care for his co-workers.”

Later verses in 1 Corinthians 1 talk about how Christ on the cross is viewed as “a stumbling block” by the Jews and “foolishness” by the Greeks (v. 23), and typical human wisdom can’t make sense of God’s “weakness” (v. 25). Because self-emptying (i.e., kenosis) is so contrary to human nature and can seem frightening, as if we might lose ourselves and our identity, we must look to Jesus’ example to understand what it requires.

What does self-emptying look like?

Paul expands on the idea of self-emptying and how Christians might take on the same attitude as Jesus in his letter to the Philippians 2:1-8.

  • Being of one mind and one love by focusing on our connection with others as children of God (Philippians 2:2)
  • Having humility with regard to one’s abilities and opinions (Philippians 2:3)
  • Appreciating others’ interests and concerns, not just our own (Philippians 2:4)
  • Being willing to let go of privilege and power, like Christ Jesus did (Philippians 2:5-8).

Christ cannot be divided, and so Christ’s church also should not be divided. Though we each possess certain markers of identity (i.e., race, gender, age, education, geographical location, lifestyle etc.), these identity markers are secondary to our identity as a new creation in Christ.

Application:

  • Recognize our human proclivity to tribalism. Pay attention to our thoughts and notice when they tend to be divisive and unloving.
  • Realize that Jesus showed us a bigger, more expansive way to love. We can offer others the loving acceptance we’ve been given by our triune God, regardless of whether we hold the same opinions and beliefs.
  • Learn to appreciate the opinions of those who view the world differently. By understanding other viewpoints, our perception of reality is made more whole, not diminished. Appreciation does not mean agreement, and it takes practice to develop the skill of holding the paradox of two differing views. Human beings cannot perceive the whole of reality by ourselves; we’re too prone to a variety of biases.

Recognizing our proclivity to tribalism is vital as we reach out to our neighborhoods sharing Jesus’ love and life with others. All need to know their identity in Christ. All need to know the gospel. All need to hear they are loved, forgiven, and reconciled to the Father.

We can laugh at the silly lawsuits discussed at the beginning, but if we think about the issues we often argue about, we can see that they really are not that important when put in the self-emptying context of Jesus Christ and the cross. Our culture may steep us in unhealthy narratives, and we may unwittingly hold values, such as individualism, that spur us toward divisive behavior. Jesus shows that loving ourselves and others requires sacrifice. His love compels us to reach out to those around us and to no longer view others from a worldly point of view, but rather, as beloved children of God. Any discomfort or sacrifice required is nothing compared to the glory of helping others see their true identity in Christ.

For Reference:

https://www.i-lawsuit.com/the-seven-most-ridiculous-lawsuits-of-all-time/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/02/03/25-really-weird-lawsuits-you-wouldnt-believe-were-ever-filed/41083385/

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-1-corinthians-110-18-3

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-1-corinthians-110-18-5

Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz W4

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January 22 – Third Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 1:10-18, “The Foolishness of Christ”

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Program Transcript


Making Everything New w/ Julie Frantz W4

Anthony: Our next passage is 1 Corinthians 1:10-18. It’s for the third Sunday after the Epiphany in the Revised Common Lectionary, which is on January the 22nd.

Julie, would you read that one for us please?

Julie: Absolutely.

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Anthony: Hallelujah. Paul appeals to us to have no divisions and to be perfectly united in mind and thoughts. And I go, Whoa, wait a second. We live in a time wrought with division disunity and quarrels and we see it not only in society, but it rears its ugly head in the church.

So, what should we do? Pastor Julie just threw up her hands in despair. Help us understand.

Julie: This message is difficult today for so many, and it was difficult back then. God’s message and his mission does not rely on human approval. The gospel’s not logically sound. Who would do this?

And we have some who are thinking the cross was a shameful death, and it’s a cursed man who died upon that. This is absolute ludicrous that somebody would die upon a cross. You want to follow someone who’s died upon a cross? This is sounds crazy. The great thinkers and the profoundly educated, they couldn’t come up with a way to save themselves.

And yet, Paul presents that God’s love, grace, and mercy does not make sense. And I would say thank goodness for that. Because rejected and denied, God turns toward humanity and lays down his life.

It doesn’t make sense and yet it is. It’s not a place of despair. It’s a place of hope because God did something that no one else would do. God has done something that makes no logical sense, and yet it is. It’s a place to stand in awe and wonder of our God.

Anthony: And you said it, it makes no sense. And that is true. And it tells us that, the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. And maybe you want to talk about that—what this means, this “perishing” word. But to those of us who are being saved, it’s the power of God. Amen. And amen. Tell us a little bit more about this. Help us understand.

Julie: I thought it was interesting that Paul doesn’t use eloquent language, attractive language to entice people to this. The gospel message, centered on Christ, is a powerful, transformative message.

There is no need for added fluff. It is a place where the hopelessness of humanity discovers the love of God and great hope. God uses the gospel message to bring salvation to those who would believe. It is a place where things are not as they should be.

There is gratefulness and thankfulness for that because if things were as they should be, we would all be in a lot of trouble. And yet God presents something really beautiful. It’s like the dawning of a new hope. Years ago, Anthony, I heard you give a message, and you used the Lord of the Rings in your message. And there’s a great battle in the Lord of the Rings, where hope is nowhere to be found.

You know the doom of what is happening. We have these people and they’re in a kingdom that is falling, and their stronghold is crumbling right before them. And all they can see is a sea of army approaching and encroaching upon them.

All of a sudden, when all hope has faded, there’s a light that shows at the top of the hill, and it is the great Gandalf. He’s arrived, and he has arrived with the strength to overcome all that has been against them.

And it is foolishness that we would put so such hope in Christ. To this humanity, it’s like, this is crazy talk! But to us that are saved in the power of God, it is life itself. It’s that abundant life. It’s that place of rest. It’s that place where we can just exhale and be. Be saved. It’s a great place of peace for us. And it does not make sense to humanity. It does not make sense to the brokenness of this world.

Who would do that? Who would do that?

Anthony: I’m drawn as I look back over this passage to verse 13 and Paul says, was Paul crucified for you and were you baptized in the name of Paul? Clearly the answer is no, in Christ, in Christ alone.

My thought goes to the work of ministry, being heralds of the gospel. As pastors in the church of Jesus Christ, it’s really easy to get a savior complex. We’re out saving the world, trying to rescue people. But nobody’s crucified in your name and my name, and that’s good! That’s reassuring because if it’s on me, if it’s on you, woo, we’re in trouble.

Anything you want to say to that? Any affirmation in that? Just any thought that you have about how that shapes your participation in ministry.

Julie: Yeah. I think it’s easy for us—sometimes as pastors you can receive a lot of really good feedback sometimes. And it can make you feel pretty good about things, and you think, oh, I’m doing a pretty good job here, or whatnot.

And what’s funny is those come, and then the criticisms come, and you be tore down a bit. But the reality of joining Jesus in ministry is that it’s not our ministry. This isn’t our ministry. I think this is what Paul’s getting at—this isn’t his ministry.

The proclamation of hope has nothing to do with Paul. The proclamation of hope has to do with who? Jesus. That’s it. That’s it. And any one of us who would declare otherwise or to take credit otherwise, we’re missing the point. And I think in a lot of churches, sometimes those who are very gifted in certain things can present a place where people jump on board with that person. It’s like they’re drawn to that person.

And I think as pastors, we want people to be drawn to Christ. We want people to see Christ. And doesn’t mean that we can’t be gifted, doesn’t mean that we can’t give good sermons, doesn’t mean that we can’t be a good pastor. It’s just it’s not about us. It’s not about us.

And sometimes our congregations—and I don’t know, I haven’t experienced enough of other cultures and stuff, but here in the United States, the culture can be very pastor-centric. It can be very focused on the pastor and the speaker and how well they do things and whatnot. And I think that is detrimental to the church. It’s detrimental to the body of Christ. And I think it’s good for us to be aware of that and to constantly point to Christ.

I don’t want anyone to come to me and think this is in me. It’s not. And I thank God that he reminds me of that. And I think this is a good reminder from Paul of, no, it’s not about us.

Anthony: Yeah. I often think of John the Baptist in this way from that imagery in John 1. He’s teaching his disciples and Jesus walks by, and he points to him, look the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And the disciples get up and leave him. And if John wanted to make it about himself, he’d be like, hey, where are you guys going? I’m not done with my sermon.

He knew what he was there for, and we are to do the same, to point people to our Lord Jesus Christ. And in participating in pastoral ministry, I’ve discovered that 80% of it is proclaiming and sharing the gospel. And it seems like the other 20% is setting up chairs, right?

It’s just rolling up your sleeves and going to work and in doing so, we are embodying the reality of who Jesus is. But thank God, it’s his ministry and it’s in his power and strength that we act. Hallelujah.

Julie: And let’s not get frustrated if that temptation gets there. If that temptation comes, let’s just be aware of it and continue to point to Christ.

It’s pretty natural for a congregation to love, and they want to be respectful to their pastors and stuff. And we have a bit of a culture of that in some congregations, and that’s not a bad thing, but it is Jesus. It is Jesus that we are here for.

He is the one who gathers. He is the one we worship. He is the one who builds the church. He is the one who grows us. Our spiritual giftings come from him. We couldn’t do any of this without him. And it is his ministry. And I think, as pastors, we can point to that, and just remind in case that temptation does come.

Anthony: Right on.


Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life
  • How do you think doubt might be a component of faith, not the opposite of faith?
  • Have you experienced “the dark night of the soul” where God felt distant? If so, how does normalizing doubt as part of the Christian experience, as in Psalm 27, make you feel?
From the sermon
  • How can participating in the spiritual disciplines (i.e., prayer, study, meditation, contemplation, etc.) make us more sensitive to tribalistic thoughts?
  • Why do you think human beings struggle with the concept of self-emptying? What are we afraid of?

Sermon for January 29, 2023 – Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Speaking of Life 5010 | The Who Question

If you read Psalm 15, you could easily say that no one would ever fit any of the descriptions when the psalmist collectively asks the question, who is worthy to be in the presence of God? No one is righteous enough. No one can always be kind and blameless. The only one who would fit the description is Jesus! He has always been in God’s presence as God’s very own Son. Through Christ, we learn to be righteous. Through Christ, we learn to be loving and kind. Through Christ, we can stand in God’s presence by the Spirit and experience the complete grace and glory of God our Father.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 5010 | The Who Question
Heber Ticas

Psalm 15 seems to be obsessed with a “who” question. Namely, who can be in God’s presence? That’s a big question and the psalmist explores the answer with a series of “who” statements.

Remarkably, the Psalm is able to repeat some form of the word “who” thirteen times in only five verses. That’s a poetic feat for any person in my opinion.

See if you can count all the “who’s” as I read Psalm 15:

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
    Who may live on your holy mountain?
The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.
Psalm 15:1-5

Were you able to count all the “who’s?” Clearly, the writer of this psalm wants to answer the “who” question. But his answer does not give us any names of who can be in God’s presence. However, he does give us a lot of descriptions of the heart and character of the “who” in question.

When we read this psalm, we may wonder if we fit the “who” descriptions and qualify to be one who can be in God’s presence. If we are honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that we do not measure up to the psalmist’s descriptions. Unfortunately, the answer to the question of “who can be in God’s presence” would be, “Not me?”

However, that doesn’t answer the question of who can. We must read beyond this Psalm to find the ultimate answer to the “who” question. The only one who fits all the descriptions perfectly in this Psalm would be the person of Jesus Christ found in the Gospels. Like Psalm 15, the entire Bible is concerned about answering the question of “who?” Even Jesus asked us the same question when he asked, “Who do you say that I am?”

The answer to that question ends up being very good news for us who know we do not qualify to be in God’s presence. Jesus is the one who has always been in God’s presence as God’s very own Son. He has come as the answer to Psalm 15, standing in for us so we can stand in God’s presence by the Spirit, enjoying the Father as the Son does.

I’m glad the psalmist asked the who question. And more so, I’m glad the Father sent Jesus as the answer.

Mi nombre es Heber Ticas. Hablando de Vida.

Psalm 15:1-5 • Micah 6:1-8 • 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 • Matthew 5:1-12

This week’s theme is the kingdom of heaven. The call to worship Psalm reflects on what is required to be in the presence of God. The Old Testament reading from Micah speaks of doing God’s will that involves justice, mercy, and humility. The text in Corinthians records Paul’s statement of the cross where God’s foolishness conquers man’s wisdom. In the Gospel reading from Matthew, we have Jesus’ teachings on the blessings of the kingdom of heaven.

Rejoice and Be Glad

Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

Today our epiphany will come, not from a story about Jesus, but by his words spoken to us. You have probably heard these words many times. They are the words known as the Beatitudes that begin Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Beatitudes come from a Latin word meaning “blessedness.” There are nine Beatitudes, or you can count them as eight seeing that the last two work in tandem. Whether you count them as eight or nine each one begins with the word “Blessed.”

Let’s begin:

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them. (Matthew 5:1-2 NRSV)

Before we hear his teaching, let’s take stock of some literary context. Matthew chooses to use the narrative of Jesus’ life to make a comparison to Israel. For example, the story of Jesus being baptized and led into the wilderness for temptation would be recognized by Jewish readers as a connection to Israel being led through the Red Sea (baptism) and then 40 years in the wilderness (40 days in the wilderness for Jesus). This connection is established by the time we get to the Beatitudes where Jesus goes up on a mountainside to teach. This setting then can elicit the story of Moses going up on Mt. Sinai to receive the words of God on stone tablets. But now we have Jesus on the mountain and instead of receiving stone tablets to take down to the people, he brings the people up with him and teaches them from his own mouth. We have God himself teaching the people face to face. What he says to them and us is great news of encouragement.

 

It’s important to note here that this is not a list of commands that must be fulfilled in order to be blessed. To read each Beatitude in that way would make these words from Christ a burden too heavy to carry. Jesus is not giving us nine commands that must be met before his Father will bless us. In fact, we can see a reversal of sorts in Jesus’ teaching on a mountain compared to the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

With Moses, we see God first telling the people who he is by saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Then God gives them the Ten Commandments. We see in that setting that God’s commandments are grounded in the indicative of who he is for them. In Exodus, we have God giving the one indicative of who he is and what he did for Israel followed by the proper response the people should have – the commandments. In other words, since God is the one who led them out of slavery, a proper response would be to serve this God instead of Pharaoh. The statement of fact has a corresponding response which can be presented as a commandment. The fact you are no longer in slavery carries a command to not live as if you are in slavery.

But, in Matthew’s arrangement of Jesus’ Beatitudes, when Jesus speaks to the people, he does not give them one indicative followed by ten commands. Instead, he begins with nine indicatives, or statements of fact, followed by one command. That command is again the proper response the people should have from knowing who God is and that he is for them. The command is simply, “rejoice and be glad.” So, as we look at each of the Beatitudes, remember that these are statements of reality that tell us something about God and the response is to rejoice and be glad.

 

Before we get to the first Beatitude, let’s take note of one more literary device. This section of Beatitudes is bracketed by the phrase “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the author’s way of telling us that everything between these two statements is about the kingdom of God. Matthew uses the expression, “kingdom of heaven” instead of the equivalent “kingdom of God” to avoid sensitivities of using the word “God” to his Jewish readers. This, by the way, is Matthew’s central theme for his Gospel account that he established back in Matthew 4:17. So, we proceed knowing that Jesus is teaching us about the reality of the kingdom that he is bringing us into.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 NRSV)

If you have never read the Beatitudes, this statement of blessing may catch you off guard. Wait! What? How does being poor in spirit amount to being blessed? Jesus’ teaching will challenge the way the Kingdom and blessings are typically viewed. Each Beatitude indicates a lacking or longing, such as “poor in spirit,” “mourning,” “meekness,” and “hunger and thirst.” We usually view someone who is blessed as being full, not lacking anything. So, what is Jesus telling us by equating blessings with lacking or being empty?

To answer that, let’s remember that these statements of blessing are the indicatives (indicators, facts) of who the King is and the reality of this new kingdom. This is not a kingdom to be taken by force, but one that is to be received. The King of this kingdom is a gracious and generous king. As we will see, he wants to give abundantly—comfort, satisfaction, mercy, and the entire earth. This is a kingdom that is received by those who are no longer looking for their own fulfillment in their own self-made kingdoms. The Father does not command us to build the kingdom for him and then bring it to him for his approval. His kingdom is a kingdom of grace that can only be received in the gift of his own Son, Jesus Christ.

See if this analogy helps in understanding what Jesus is saying to us. If you were told that the King of the universe wants to give you a gift, how would you approach him? Well, it would depend on who you thought the King was, right? Is he the type of king that needs to be appeased with gifts and praise before he will give you anything? Or is he a generous king who loves his children and wants to give them all that he has. If he is a king who must be appeased, then you wouldn’t want to come empty-handed. However, if he is a king who desires to share all that he has, then you would want to come empty-handed. Meaning, you will want to come to him in a posture to receive. You would want to come longing to receive from him.

Here is another analogy. If this king offers you the best wine that flows in his kingdom, you will not want to come to him with a full cup or even a half full cup. You would want an empty cup that could be filled to the rim.

These analogies break down of course, as there is no comparison to what the Father gives us in his Son, Jesus. But the point is, we can’t receive what he is freely giving while we are grasping for something else. We must come to the point that we long for what the Father is giving more than we long for what we think we can give ourselves. And that is the blessing that accompanies these statements.

Each Beatitude is a posture of longing to receive what the Father generously gives. Our first Beatitude is the blessing that comes from being “poor in spirit.” Those who are poor in spirit realize their spiritual bankruptcy and are in a position to receive the “kingdom of heaven” which is found only in Jesus. When we continually fail our own attempts to establish our own kingdoms, when we quit trying to draw from an empty account of self-righteousness, when we come to the Father “poor in spirit,” we come to be blessed. We come with open hands and open hearts trusting that the Father is a generous Father who gives us his kingdom.

We can see this same posture to receive from the Father in each of the remaining Beatitudes:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NRSV)

Those who mourn know they are powerless to bring back that which has been lost. They are comforted by Christ whose redemptive reign will come to fullness in his kingdom. Mourning has a preparatory effect. For example, the season of mourning for those who lose a loved one prepares them to enter the next stage of life. Mourning the loss that comes to us because of sin and the brokenness of our world prepares us to receive the new creation the Father gives. We can mourn in hope knowing that we will be comforted by the reign of God.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5 NRSV)

Psalm 37 serves as the background for this Beatitude:

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.  For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant prosperity. (Psalm 37:8-11 NRSV)

This psalm depicts the faithful who lose their land to wicked wealthy elites. The psalm is encouragement that the wicked ultimately will lose their power and the faithful will have their land restored. In Matthew’s context, Christians lived under the tyranny of the Roman government that gained control of the promised land. The meek in Matthew’s use are those who trust and wait for the Lord to deal with wickedness while living in the expectation of the Lord’s restoration. By Jesus saying they will inherit the earth, he is saying that nothing lost will remain lost forever. Meekness is a posture of receiving all that the Lord restores and redeems in his resurrected life.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6 NRSV)

Hunger and thirst bring us to the table of the Lord. This hunger and thirst for righteousness comes to those who have turned from feasting on self-righteousness, parading around as full and satisfied with their own pronouncements of piety and goodness. There is a cosmic wedding banquet that awaits those who seek to be filled with the Lord’s righteousness which is served by grace. Feasting on self-acquired “righteousness” only leaves us bloated and miserable. Being “filled” with the Lord’s righteousness is a fullness that brings satisfaction and joy.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. (Matthew 5:7 NRSV)

Mercy is an act of hope in a relationship. When we refuse to show mercy, we have given up on a relationship where we have been offended or hurt. We do not have any hope of change or transformation in the other person, so we hold to our rights and demand payment for their sins against us. In short, we do not extend mercy. But it is a blessing to be merciful because that is the posture of releasing the other person and us to the Lord who is merciful to us. We are blessed when we can let go of our demands on others who have hurt us and live in the hope of Jesus’ restorative work in all our relationships. Ultimately, this blessing comes when we see ourselves, along with everyone else, as equal at the foot of the cross; all are in need of mercy that is freely given in Christ. From this posture, we can receive mercy for ourselves enabling us to be merciful to others.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NRSV)

Jewish thought holds the heart as the central point of one’s thoughts, emotions, and will. To be pure in heart is to have no division between the three. Pure in heart is to have integrity. Our entire being would be consistent throughout with no internal conflict. The blessing of this purity is seeing God. In other words, God is connected to everything in our lives. Whatever comes our way, we can see God working in it for his good purposes toward us. Even when encountered by the things we don’t understand, or circumstances that create crisis, we can see God intimately involved in all of it. In this way, all of our thoughts, emotions, and will finds its purity, its wholeness, in relation to God and his work in us. We do not have to be torn between how we relate and respond to others or circumstances around us. There is immense blessing in seeing God in the middle of all our interactions and circumstances, setting us free from trying to manipulate and maneuver all that comes to us to serve ourselves. To see God as central in it all gives our lives focus and freedom. We never have to be torn apart in reaction to anything that appears to threaten us. When we see God in it, there is no cause for fear, regardless of what comes our way.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9 NRSV)

To be a peacemaker is to first have a longing for peace and then to work towards it. This is very hard work, as you might imagine. And the Jewish understanding of peace was rich and deep. Peace wasn’t just a cease-fire, but it was a harmony in all relationships that were committed to the good of the other, individually and between nations. This is what the Father is up to. He is bringing his peace, or shalom as the Jews called it. This is why he sent his Son. So, the blessing of being a peacemaker is being a child of God, one who participates in what he sees his heavenly Father doing in all their relationships. From their true identity, peacemakers don’t settle for cease-fires or just seek to avoid conflict. Rather, they work towards the good purposes of the Father who seeks to establish a peace that entails active reconciliation that removes all hate and bitterness. Conflict is not avoided, it is replaced. This takes hard work, but there is blessing in it as we know we are about our Father’s business, which will ultimately succeed in the end.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10 NRSV)

This may be a hard blessing to see. How does being persecuted amount to being blessed. That seems like the opposite of being blessed. But remember, Jesus is talking about his kingdom. His kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. In fact, we can expect the kingdoms of this world to continue to oppose and try to destroy Jesus’ kingdom wherever it is breaking in. So, just as Jesus was persecuted, so will his followers be. This means that when we are persecuted for Jesus’ kingdom of righteousness, it is a sign that we do indeed belong to the “kingdom of heaven.” Instead of seeing our persecutions as signs of failure or abandonment, we can rightly interpret them as signs of belonging to the only kingdom that will stand forever.

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (Matthew 5:11 NRSV)

Now Jesus will turn his address directly to his disciples as indicated by the switch from third person to second person. “Blessed are you…” As believers, Jesus is now addressing you as his disciples. He is still talking about the blessing of persecution, but he wants to target his words more pointedly to his followers. He knows we will need to hear this pronouncement of blessing again and again in our lives. As the Body of Christ on this earth, we will encounter resistance to following him.

So, these Beatitudes end with Jesus stressing twice that entering this kingdom will come with persecution. Since the Kingdom is not fully realized in this world of darkness, there will be resistance to it. As we experience persecution for participating with Jesus, we can count it as blessing as it shows us that we are indeed receiving and entering that kingdom. As a zombie only attacks the living, so persecution for the Kingdom tells us we have truly entered life.

Before we close out the Beatitudes, it is important to remember who is teaching us. It is Jesus himself. This is not a teaching from a local rabbi or a regular Jewish leader. This is the Son of God who came to us to establish his kingdom. And he has done just that. His kingdom is already established and will one day be fully realized. As we look at the Beatitudes, we ultimately see that it is Jesus who is the blessed one. He came to us poor in spirit, in all meekness and mercy. Though he was God, Paul tells us in Philippians 2:7, he “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself.” Jesus’ whole life was lived in the Spirit. He lived a life of receiving, not grasping. He only did what he saw his Father do. This is the only kingdom that God offers. All other kingdoms are being torn down. As we participate in Jesus’ Beatitudes, we too receive the blessings of this kingdom that is.

Now that Jesus has laid out all these indicatives – these statement of facts on the blessings we have in him – he concludes by giving us one command: rejoice and be glad!

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:12 NRSV)

When Jesus was talking about persecution, he emphasized a type of persecution that comes from what people say with their words. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Now he goes on to say that we can look to the past where the prophets were treated the same, and we can look to the future where we find our reward. Our present circumstances are not understood by the persecuting words of those who are presently not receiving the Kingdom. But it is Jesus, the Word of God who has the final word on our being. As Jesus speaks to us from the mountain with the encouraging words that we are blessed in him, may we respond with the only command Jesus gives as our response to this amazingly good news. “Rejoice and be glad!” And why wouldn’t we, seeing how blessed we indeed are.


Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life
  • The video claimed that the entire Bible is concerned with the “who” question. How does this frame how we read the Bible?
  • How does reading Psalm 15 affect you as you read about the description of one who “qualifies” to be in God’s presence?
  • How does Psalm 15 affect you when you know Jesus is the answer to its “who” question?
From the Sermon
  • Have you ever read the Beatitudes as a list of commands? What difference does it make to see them as indicatives (statements of facts), regarding being blessed rather than commands to meet in order to be blessed?
  • The sermon referred to the Beatitudes as a posture of longing to receive what the Father gives. What does this mean for you?
  • Which Beatitude spoke to you the most from the sermon?
  • According to the sermon, discuss how being persecuted for the Kingdom is a blessing.
  • Jesus gives us one command to “Rejoice and be glad.” Reflecting on the sermon, share anything from Jesus’ words that enable you to rejoice and be glad about today.