GCI Equipper

The Incarnation

The greatest event that has a beginning, but no end.

I love the way the apostle John starts his Gospel, “In the beginning…”

What is he referring to? The beginning of the creation? The beginning of the earth? The beginning of the universe? The beginning of time? The beginning of the plan of God? We don’t know, but what we do know is the best translation of the Greek refers to origin, or the beginning of all things. We know John makes it clear he is not referring to the beginning of the Word, because he says, “In the beginning was the Word.” Granted, the word “was” is an English word translated from the Greek, but it points to the “I Am,” or the eternal existence of the Word. Beginnings and endings are part of time and space, God is outside both; he has no beginning. So I like to think of John’s focus as the beginning of God’s plan. Let’s continue.

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1 NRSVUE)

John is making it clear that the Word is not a created being; he is God. There was never a time that the Word was not a part of God or God was not part of the Word. John wants his reader to understand the significance of who the Word is – he is God. John continues:

 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What came into being in him is life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:2-3 NRSVUE)

To further emphasize his point, John is making it clear that this Word who has always been is the creator – the one responsible for all of creation; without this Word, we would not have life.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. (John 1:10-11 NRSVUE)

John next emphasizes that this Word – the Logos – God – wasn’t absent or apart from humanity. Here are just a few reminders.

  • The Word walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
  • The Word spoke to Cain after Cain murdered Abel. (Notice the Word was still present in the midst of sin. Sin didn’t turn God away; sin causes man to turn away. That will preach.)
  • The Word spoke to Noah and told him to build an ark.
  • The Word promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations.
  • The Word wrestled with Jacob, and later told him it was safe to move to Egypt.
  • The Word met Moses in a burning bush and guided him as Moses challenged Pharoah.
  • The Word led Israel out of Egypt, using fire by night and a cloud by day.
  • The Word revealed himself to Moses on Mt Sinai.
  • The Word appeared in the tent in the Holy of Holies as Israel wandered the wilderness.
  • The Word spoke to several kings and prophets.

The Word – who was with God and who is God – has always been present with humanity. John wants this made clear as he progresses in sharing who Jesus was, is, and will be. John’s statement that “the world did not know him… and his own people did not accept him” is a brief summary of more than 4,000 years of humanity’s existence. From the very beginning humanity rejected walking in relationship with God, desired to do things their own way, and preferred to hear from God through a mediator (Moses, Joshua, prophets, kings, and priests. We refer to this time period as “the fall.”

Then God put the biggest, most exciting, most transformational part of his plan into motion.

 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)

I will spend the rest of my life attempting to grasp the significance of these words. We call this transformation, INCARNATION. (Yes, I actually capitalized the entire word because it needs to be emphasized.)

Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines Incarnation like this:

Incarnation [N] that act of grace whereby Christ took our human nature into union with his Divine Person, became man. Christ is both God and man. Human attributes and actions are predicated of him, and he of whom they are predicated is God.

The Word who was in the beginning, the one who was with God, the one who was God, became flesh. He became one of us. He started the same way we started – in the womb. He entered the world the same way we enter the world – in pain and joy. He learned to walk; he learned to talk; he went to school; he played with friends; he learned a skill with his dad – carpentry or stonework; he spent time in church (synagogue); he learned to obey his parents; he got dirty and sweaty; he got angry and happy; he laughed, and he cried. He was fully human because, as Author Max Lucado phrased it, “He took off his robe of light and put on pigmented human skin.”

This is the beginning of the Incarnation, but it is just the beginning. Jesus didn’t put on humanity for a few years and then throw it off at his death and say, “Whew! I am glad that is over.” No, Jesus kept his humanity. He remains human. He is the first of the first of what we term “glorified humanity.” We don’t know what that is, but we do know it is good – very good.

The Incarnation is the most unprecedented event ever – and let me put this in all caps as well. GOD BECAME FLESH. Wow! Take a few moments, hours, days, weeks, years to think on that. Our God loves us so much, he put aside his equality with the Father and became one of us.

The apostle Paul said it best as he encouraged believers in Philippi to have the same mind as Jesus Christ. Here he describes the Incarnation:

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, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

The Incarnation is the greatest event that has a beginning, but no end.

Merry Christmas,

Rick Shallenberger
Editor

What the Incarnation Means to Me

GCI Superintendents share their thoughts about the Incarnation

Heber Ticas, Latin America

As a child, my parents never celebrated Christmas, therefore my understanding of Christmas was influenced by my surroundings. Christmas was about lights, gifts, parties, time off from school, but never about the Bethlehem miracle where the incarnate Son of God becomes one with us in Christ Jesus. As my understanding of the Christmas miracle expanded, the Incarnation became very meaningful.

Although the Christmas season still comes with lights, gifts, parties and now time off from work, the incarnation of the Son of God is at the center for me. I look forward to Advent with the expectation of pausing from everyday life to reflect on the unimaginable reality of the Creator becoming one with his creation. Pondering this truth, alongside my spouse, children, and spiritual family, has become a life-giving experience. The Christmas symbols have become profoundly meaningful as they point back to the Bethlehem story. The Incarnation is at the center of my faith and a constant reminder that I am wrapped in the triune life, through the Son and by the Spirit.

Gavin Henderson, Europe

For me, I love that the Incarnation expresses God’s confidence in his ultimate plans for creation and humanity. When Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, took on human form, God himself took humanity into his inner eternal being. Like the rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to never destroy the earth in a flood, the Incarnation is a sign of God’s eternal commitment to humanity. When the Word took on flesh, it was not for it just to be later discarded, but rather for it to be changed and made permanent. When Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, it heralded the eternal future that is in store for all those who are in Jesus Christ.

Celebrating the Incarnation is more than just celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrating God’s commitment to humanity, and, on a more personal level, his commitment to us. It is one thing to think that God loves me, but it blows me away to think that he loves me so much that he wants to spend eternity with me. That despite my sin – my flaws and mistakes – God sees something in me, something I cannot see in myself, that is worthy of his eternal love.

When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate his eternal love for us. We honour that love, not in the gifts we receive, or the food we eat, but in the love we show for those Christ also came into the world for.

Kalengule Kaoma, Africa

December 25th is approaching, and Christmas carols are playing in malls and other public places. The music reminds me of the birth of Jesus Christ. My mind is whirling with several ideas at the thought of what the birth of Jesus means. This birth is commonly referred to as “Incarnation.” What does Incarnation mean to me?

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines Incarnation as “the union of divine and human natures in Jesus Christ.” Dictionary.com indicates Incarnation as “the Christian belief that the Son, the second person of the Trinity, was incarnated, or made flesh, in the person of Jesus, in order to save the world from original sin.” Easton’s Bible Dictionary has the following on Incarnation: “act of grace whereby Christ took our human nature into union with his Divine Person, became man.”

The Incarnation is God’s gracious move into my life as Emmanuel – God with me. He has become everything good to me. Here are some faith-based, personal understandings revealed in several scriptures. Through the Incarnation, Jesus became the way for me to know the Father, who explains the truth about the purpose of my life.

Further, through the Incarnation, I have a friend who acts in several roles on my behalf on earth and in heaven. In my friend, Jesus Christ, I have a great high priest and a great Advocate who is seated on the throne of authority in heaven. This great high priest covers me with his robes of righteous forgiveness and presents me to the Father as a forgiven individual. He also defends me and vindicates me as a redeemed, renewed, restored, and justified person.

To me, the Incarnation is not just about the birth of Jesus. It is the life of Jesus: his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ministry in my life. Through the Incarnation, I have been invited to participate in the life of Jesus. He came that I may have life. His life exemplifies how I should live. Through Jesus’s death, I have died to sin. Jesus Christ has become my resurrection. My life is now anchored in his resurrected life so that my hope does not hope in vain for the resurrection when my body dies in this life.

The Incarnation is God’s gift of his life to me so that I live in him, for him, and about him.

* Scripture references: Rev 21:3; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; John 10:10; John 14:6; Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

Danny Zachariah, Asia

In my country, India, God is believed to be undefinable. “It” has no physical features, is beyond all qualities that earthly creatures are familiar with. At the most, one may describe God to be a “principle.” This ultimate “principle” comes down to earth, again and again, every time humanity is in distress. This is called an “Avatar.” Many believe Jesus Christ was an avatar who was among the many millions of manifestations of this undefinable and ultimate reality.

When I read the biblical account of the Incarnation, I realized that the coming of Jesus Christ goes much beyond of what an avatar is. In the Incarnation, Jesus takes on real flesh. He is not merely an appearance or a manifestation. The Incarnation is permanent; Jesus takes on our humanity to remain in the “glorified body” forever making intercession for us. Most important of all, Jesus defeats evil and death in his fleshly body once and for all, and shares his gloried, resurrected state with all humanity. And this is what inspires me most – that the eternal God is so loving, gracious, and personal that, in Jesus, he has decided to reside in and with me forever. May the reality of the Incarnation inspire all of humanity to embrace the greatest gift of all – himself!

Daphne Sidney, Australasia

When I was growing up as part of a large family, the youngest of nine children in fact, Christmas Day was pretty special. We all knew that Mum and Dad kept the Christmas gifts hidden in the dark recesses of a big old wardrobe in their bedroom. This was a big heavy old wardrobe like you would imagine in a CS Lewis story. As a child you could almost climb in and expect to find an exit door somewhere. Well, that old wardrobe certainly held some Christmas mysteries for us kids. In those days on the farm, gifts were few and far between! Christmas Day finally arrived, and the mysteries were solved. Each child received a treasured gift, carefully wrapped the evening before – can you imagine wrapping so many gifts in those days before we had the convenience of gift-bags! So much love and care was poured out to ensure we each had our special gift.

Well, there are so many aspects of this story which, upon reflection, help me feel the love of the Father for his children and the deeper meaning of Christmas. My childhood mystery of the gift, and how it was made possible, is a tiny reflection of the giving of the greatest gift ever, the person of Jesus Christ, who humbly entered our world as a vulnerable baby. He grew and poured out his life for us that we may have life. It is hard to imagine any greater mystery of how a God of the universe, the whole cosmos, would be willing to put on flesh and live amongst humanity in a hostile world. An even greater mystery is that he did it with such grace and truth. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). I am personally grateful we are invited to his throne of grace enabling us to abide in him, in a loving relationship with this glorious God of grace who came to dwell among us, to be with us, in us, and for us.

Michael Rasmussen, North America and Caribbean

Why would Jesus give up his position at the Father’s right hand to come to Earth? He was and is sovereign and knows all things. Therefore, he knew what it was going to mean to put on flesh and what it would mean to submit himself to this human life and all its corruption. He knew the cost of our sins and what this would require on his behalf. He knew he would be betrayed, rejected and one of his closest friends would deny he even knew him. He knew he would find no truth and no justice in the world he created. He knew he would be beaten beyond recognition, then abandoned on the cross to slowly die one of the worst deaths possible.

Why? Because his love compelled him, it drove him to the most loving act possible. He did it for you, he did it for me and for every human being who has ever lived or ever will live. I thank God every day for his love, for his perfect plan, and for being willing to trade his life for mine. I am so unworthy, but I am eternally grateful for his unconditional love and his perfect life.

As we enter the Advent and Christmas Season, let us never forget how his love conquers ALL and forever changes everything!

Christmas Traditions

Diana Mayhew

A favorite European/Romanian tradition from when I was in my teens was fasting for 40 days before Christmas and usually abstaining from meat and sweets. Family & friends would do this together, and we would share the hardships and temptations we would experience every day. It was wonderfully bonding. And then on Christmas at midnight, we would gather and eat all kinds of homemade treats, including Romanian traditional foods like, Sarmatule (pork and rice wrapped in cabbage pickled leaf) and Cozonac (sweet bread with cacao, nuts and/or raisins).

Lance & Georgia McKinnon

One tradition that we started when we got married was to set aside a night to decorate the Christmas tree. This was a learning curve for us, as neither of us grew up celebrating Christmas. So, we decided to choose a decoration theme that would help point to who Jesus is, especially in anticipation of having children. We wanted our Christmas traditions and celebrations to serve, as much as possible, as pointers to Jesus, the one we are celebrating. Therefore, we chose a red, gold, and crystal theme to reflect that Jesus is our Savior, king, and pure light (crystal ornaments refract the white Christmas lights in an array of beautiful colors and further remind us of the privilege we have of participating in the light and life of the triune God). All our ornaments typically mark significant events in our family life together and are chosen with this red, gold, and crystal theme in mind. As we hang each ornament, we are reminded of our family story together and how that story is lifted up to abide in the redeeming, sanctifying, and glorifying story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. We choose to complete the decoration by topping the tree with a golden bow to signify that all this is a gift of God’s pure grace to us. Twenty-five anniversaries and four kids later, this night has become a Christmas favorite involving wonderful family fellowship around food favorites, cider, hot chocolate, Christmas music, and the shared task of decorating the tree. It begins our Advent and Christmas celebration on the right note. Reminding each other who Jesus is for us and who we are in him.

Charlotte Rakestraw

My favorite Christmas tradition is getting together with extended family and enjoying a big potluck feast. We see family members we haven’t seen in a while and enjoy catching up with each other over great food and great shared memories.

Tim Sitterley

There are a couple of Christmas traditions in the Sitterly home, from everyone in pajamas (including visitors) on Christmas morning, to faithfully watching the Christmas Eve St. Peter’s Midnight Mass on TV. But a new tradition began a few years ago, when I was rummaging through Halloween costumes at the local Goodwill store. The complete Santa costume was just too tempting to pass up, and what better costume for someone who spent most of his adult life avoiding any trappings of the season. It turns out that Santa is in high demand, so another “tradition” has been added to the list. Santa now shows up at the annual Christmas dinner hosted by one of the business associations in Springfield and hands out gifts to the children of the families attending. Who would have thought that after years of saying “Humbug,” I would now be shouting, “Ho Ho Ho” every December?

Reuel Enerio

In the Philippines, we all like to celebrate Christmas early at the start of the “ber” months, which is September. It was such a joy going house to house in different towns with family or friends and then eating different Filipino food, like lechon, sweet spaghetti, pancit, oysters, and embutido while singing karaoke till the morning.

Connie White

We like to take family pics in our pj’s for Christmas.

Cara Garrity

My favorite Christmas tradition is spending Christmas Eve in pajamas with my sister and watching a marathon of Christmas movies until we fall asleep.

Bret Miller

One local Carolina group, Least of These of the Carolinas, provides assistance and resources to foster families. They have an annual “12 Hours of Christmas” event where the foster kids can enjoy some games while their foster parents pick up free gifts, have them wrapped, and loaded into their car. Then they have a meal together before they go. We almost always serve in some capacity. But we don’t have any pictures of it. It’s just a great opportunity to share the love of Christ with families who often have a tough time during the season.

Pam Morgan

Our family has a tradition of gathering on Christmas Eve and attending a worship service, then having a fun dinner. We then gather in the living room and each person opens one gift before bed.

This past year everyone spent the night and then Christmas morning enjoyed family time in our pjs. It is truly a blessing to be able to celebrate with your children and grandchildren the birth of our Savior.

Jeff Broadnax

In the Broadnax household, our favorite Christmas tradition is actually a “Pre-Christmas” tradition. We are blessed to have our daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren with us in the Columbus area and our son, who lives in NYC, is usually home for Christmas. As grandparents, Karen and I split the holidays with our son-in-law’s parents so the grandkids spend the actual Christmas day in Pennsylvania. That has created for us a Pre-Christmas Dinner and gift exchange at our home before they leave. Having Kassidy, Kyle, Jasmine, Dan, Kaiden and Kara around the table, enjoying family favorite dishes prepared by Karen is just a highlight for celebrating the life and love of Jesus found in the Christmas season.

Michelle Fleming

One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was going to a live nativity scene. It’s a magical experience that transports you straight into the heart of the Bethlehem story. A local church built an elaborate town with shops that taught about how wares like soap and blankets were made at the time. Before you even entered the streets of the city of Bethlehem, you were immersed in the sights and sounds of the ancient world. Actors dressed as Roman soldiers rode horses and built a tense environment and set the scene by explaining about the census and families needing to sign in to be recorded. After walking through the town and interacting with the locals and animals, there was an inn where the innkeeper shared the story of Jesus and led groups to the manger where Mary, Joseph, and a live baby Jesus were surrounded by animals and the wise men. The meticulous attention to detail brought the story to life and was a powerful reminder of the profound significance of God entering our world as a vulnerable baby.

Greg Williams

One tradition we started with the grandkids is to give them each a Silver Eagle $1 coin. They don’t fully understand the value of the coin now, but when they turn 18 and are headed to college the coins will be worth a pretty good chunk. A lesson in delayed gratification, and from a spiritual perspective, the growth in understanding about the baby in a manger will hold their attention at their age level, and as they age and mature, they will come to see the infinite value of Emmanuel.

Lucy Enerio

My most cherished Christmas custom involves our family coming together to celebrate the hope we find in Christ. The extended celebration stretching from the week of Christmas until the new year typically consists of food-sharing, gift-giving, family karaoke, nature walks, and movie marathons. Additionally, December 25 marks my parents’ wedding anniversary, making this gathering particularly meaningful for our family in the Philippines. This year’s gathering will be a different experience as we navigate the absence of my mother, who passed away on New Year’s Day of 2023. We look to Christ as our eternal source of hope, now and always.

Anthony Mullins

My Christmas tradition is spending the holidays with my precious family which I affectionately call my “girl world.” From left to right: Sarah, Elizabeth, Riley, LeeAnna and yours truly.

 

Robert Meade

We like to decorate our house and open it up to friends, family and the entire neighborhood for a day to share the joy and beauty of Christmas. If you’re in the area the evening of December 2, feel free to stop by and say hi!

 

Elizabeth Mullins

For my daughters, I assembled ornament collections. Every year, I would buy a new ornament for each, and mark with the current year and their names. On the day we put up and decorated the Christmas tree, I would give Sarah and LeeAnna their new ornament as a present to unwrap. Their collections were stored in two special boxes, and they looked forward to hanging their own ornaments on the tree each year. As was always the plan, they each took their ornament collection with them when they became adults and had their own Christmas trees to decorate. It was one of my favorite Christmas traditions in our family.

Evelyn Dailey

Every year during Christmas, Joe and I would go away, somewhere special and reflect on the past year, giving God thanks, praying and talking about the coming year, asking God’s blessing on our life together. It was very special, and we enjoyed the joy at that time of year and all the different places we would go to celebrate.

Rose Hamrick

My favorite tradition is spending time with each other as a family. We don’t necessarily have a Christmas tradition because all in the family are often with their in-laws. We are typically all together for Thanksgiving.

Rick Shallenberger

We typically go to a Christmas Eve celebration together, and then the family comes over to the house for a Christmas dinner. Because all three kids have in-laws, they spend Christmas morning with them, and we meet for the afternoon and have meals and games. Cheryl and I make Christmas special for the grandkids by making snowmen out of their gifts. The bottom gift is usually a toy or two, the middle is clothes, and the top is some of their favorite snacks. They also get a new scarf, hat and gloves, which the snowperson is wearing.

A Summary of the 4 Es in a Healthy Church

Healthy leaders lead to healthy church, which leads to healthy leaders.

Engage: recognize & recruit

  • Healthy pastors/leaders create an environment of recruiting and invitation.
  • We model a pattern of recognizing and inviting others into life with Christ and participating in the ministries of the church.
  • We keep in mind the diversity of giftings and skillsets while recruiting developing ministry opportunities. We are intentional to find ways to involve all members in some way.
  • We are sensitive to the work and calling of the Spirit in the life of others. We intentionally invite others in and give them opportunity for participation.
  • We are intentional about engagement occurring in the life of our local congregations and our focus neighborhoods.

Equip: develop & multiply

  • Healthy pastors differentiate between ministry workers and ministry leaders in equipping.
  • We are intentional about developing ministry leaders who can develop ministry workers.
  • Our training is relevant and timely to the stage of development and area of responsibility.
  • Our equipping includes both character and skillset development.
  • The meat of our equipping happens at the local church level, is ongoing and hands-on.
  • We accept that developing a healthy leader requires intentionality and recognizing the difference between a ministry worker and one that leads others.

Empower: create space & commission

  • Healthy pastors and Avenue champions empower leaders by creating ministry spaces for new leaders.
  • We give room for the apprentice leader to lead.
  • We create spaces for leaders to step into leadership roles. We commission them before the body for recognition and a healthy charge.
  • We allow others to lead according to their gifting, style, and personality—not as extensions of the self or as pawns.
  • We recognize that in the liberation to lead there is still accountability.

Encourage: call up & affirm

  • Healthy pastors understand that leaders are mainly volunteers and that ministry can become difficult. Thus, we are attentive and encouraging.
  • We lift each other up throughout the difficult journey of ministry. This includes words of affirmation, times of shared prayer, honest conversations, handwritten notes to encourage, etc.
  • We recognize when to lead with strategies, support, or challenge but will also recognize when to pastor and encourage a ministry leader.
  • We acknowledge that encouragement is more than giving praise. It is sharing what we see in a person, calling out their strengths, as well as opportunities for growth.

Church Hack: Place-sharing Connect Groups

At GCI, we believe that a vibrant and healthy church goes beyond just Sunday services. It’s all about meaningful rhythms and deep relationships. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our brand-new Place-sharing connect group curriculum!

Join us as we explore the beautiful concept of place-sharing, following the example of Jesus, the ultimate place-sharer. Through three enriching sessions, you’ll discover how to cultivate a deeper connection with Christ and one another, practicing this transformative practice.

This month’s Church Hack is our new Place-sharing connect group curriculum. To download and view the pdf, click here:

The God of New Beginnings

The Youth Vision column will continue with new experiences and new lessons worth sharing.

In these seasons of Advent and Christmas, we celebrate the God of new beginnings. The arrival of Christ on earth, in the form of a babe in a manger, marked a new beginning for humanity. When a person responds to God’s open arms and follows Christ, that person becomes a new creation. When Jesus returns in glory, the old will pass away and be replaced by a new heaven and new earth. We serve a God who can make everything new.

 

 

This will be the last Youth Vision article I write as the GenMin National Coordinator. My tenure in this role will end with GenMin at the conclusion of 2023. Given the circumstances, it would be natural for me to focus on endings. Normally, I would talk about finishing races and fighting good fights. However, I feel my attention being drawn to beginnings and what God may be doing in this moment.

GCI has been leaning into our vision of healthy church for more than five years. We have been wrestling with how to make our congregations resemble Jesus in as many ways as possible. This wrestling includes the ways in which our congregations disciple children and youth. With our denomination’s increasing experience with trinitarian children’s ministry and neighborhood camps, perhaps God is preparing us to participate in a new way of cultivating relationships between young people and Jesus. Perhaps a phenomenon like the revival at the Asbury Theological Seminary is a signal that we are at the beginning of a movement that will see young people playing a vital role in helping reimagine what the church can be. Perhaps GCI is being equipped to participate in this new thing that God is doing.

While I will no longer be the GenMin Coordinator, I will continue to write the Youth Vision column. Up until this point, I have been writing this column drawing on my experiences as a youth development professional, youth minister, and regional camp director. However, as I move to having 100% of my time dedicated to being a pastor — a pastor with children and youth as key members, and a pastor who is actively seeking to engage the young people in the neighborhood — I will be writing as one proactively trying to discern what God is doing in the lives of the young people that my team and I will be working with. I hope to be an active participant in the movement that I believe is emerging. And I hope to write articles that will let you see how God is forming me (and maybe us) into that new thing.

As Generations Ministry ends, let us mourn as those with hope. Let us honor what an amazing ministry it was and feel the sadness that comes with saying goodbye. But let us also lift up our eyes and pay attention because we serve the God of new beginnings. We do not want to miss a moment of what God will do next.

Till next year in a new role,

Dishon Mills
Generations Ministry Coordinator

Culture Creation w/ Julie Frantz

Video unavailable (video not checked).

In this episode, our host Cara Garrity interviews Julie Frantz – pastor Grace Communion Cincinnati East & West; wife and mom of 4. Loves New Mexican food & adventure in all forms – good bad & ugly. Together they discuss the importance of intentionally developing a church culture.

You can make it this checklist, but that’s really not what Christ has invited us into. He’s invited us to join him in mission, and that’s relational. That’s not a checklist. And it’s a rhythm set by him. It’s the church leaning into that and accepting: You are God. This is your church. You love these people. Give us the heart that you have for these people. Help us to participate in that.
-Julie Frantz

 

 

Main Points:

  • When we talk about the “culture” of a local congregation, what does that mean to you? 00:49
  • On GC Podcast this year we’ve explored various perspectives on healthy church rhythms. How do rhythms contribute to creating culture? How does culture contribute to the rhythms we choose to create? 02:25
  • “Church culture” (aka church in-speak, etc.) can often be a barrier to missional living because it creates an insider/outsider dynamic. In contrast, in a kingdom culture, everyone belongs. What are some ways we can do a temperature check on the culture of a local congregation? How can we discover what kind of culture we have right now? 06:23
  • What difference does it make when we intentionally consider the kind of culture we want to have in the local congregation?
  • What does it practically look like to make decisions that shift towards the vision culture? 25:08
  • God calls us into incarnational ministry, a sent ministry. What can that look like as a church discerns, by the leading of the Spirit, its own flavor and contextualizes its unique personality and grows its unique culture in its specific context? 35:05
  • Change is difficult, culture change is no exception. What are some things that can inhibit our ability to shift culture? What are some things that promote culture shift?
  • What final words of encouragement do you want to leave our listeners with? 37:35

 

Resources:

 

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Program Transcript


Culture Creation w/ Julie Frantz

Welcome to the GC Podcast. A podcast to help you develop into the healthiest ministry leader you can be by sharing practical ministry experience.


Cara: Hello friends, and welcome to this 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’m blessed to interview Julie Frantz, pastor of Grace Communion Cincinnati East and West, wife and mom of four. She loves New Mexican food and adventure in all its forms, good, bad, and ugly.

Julie, thank you so much for joining us today. It’s so good to have you on the GC Podcast.

Julie: Thank you, Cara. I’m excited to be here.

[00:00:49] Cara: Yes, and I’m looking forward to the richness of this conversation today. We’re going to be talking about creating culture in our local congregations. The first thing I want to ask is when we talk about the culture of a local congregation, what does that mean to you?

[00:01:06] Julie: When I think of the culture of a local congregation, I think about people—people who have shared life and shared belief and ultimately, we hope and we look for a shared mission and a people that shares their identity in Christ where we together grow and together become who Christ created us to be and who we are in him.

It’s this people coming together unified by Christ. And we develop new rhythms together, a rhythm directed by him and led by him, and we discover as we journey with Christ what those rhythms look like and how those rhythms are expressed within the body. It becomes a beautiful thing—a little bit of chaos and a little bit of beauty and a lot of grace.

[00:02:06] Cara: Yeah, absolutely. I love how you’ve described that. It is a beautiful thing, chaos and beauty and grace and all. This year on GC Podcast, we have explored a lot of different angles on rhythms that are part of healthy church. You mentioned that as part of culture too. So how do our rhythms contribute to creating culture and in the maybe reverse order? How does culture contribute to the rhythms we choose to create?

[00:02:41] Julie: Yeah. Our rhythms within the body of Christ really are part of our discipleship path. It’s learning that new rhythm of who Christ is and who we are in him as a body. And that’s a timely thing.

It takes time and patience and a lot of grace for one another. But it is part of our discipleship process with the Lord. And so that part of becoming and having a consistent rhythm, that’s totally led according to the Lord’s timing. We have a little bit to do with that as far as the consistency and participation.

But really that’s led by the Lord. And what’s interesting about our rhythms and culture is that culture can absolutely challenge the rhythms of a church. And cause us to rethink some of those rhythms and possibly respond differently as culture transforms around us.

But our rhythms are really not controlled by society, but instead led, maintained by the leading of the Holy Spirit. And even though the culture can make us rethink those and make us consider how we participate in those rhythms led by the Holy Spirit, those rhythms are the Holy Spirit’s leading. The culture doesn’t determine how the church lives that out.

And can’t and shouldn’t determine how the church lives that out.

[00:04:26] Cara: Yeah. And I love that you’ve highlighted that those rhythms, in the context of church community and the formation of the culture of church community, those rhythms are formed and led by the Spirit, by who God is.

Because we were stepping in time with his rhythms, with his ways. And so really, we’re being shaped and formed into the culture of his kingdom and who he is versus—and I think that comes in line with what you’re saying—versus all the various different pulls and pushes or different ways of thinking. Culture can come in a thousand different forms, but the rhythms that we’re trying to sync up to are the rhythms of God’s culture that he has for all of his people.

That’s beautifully said, Julie. Like I said, or I just mentioned, culture can come in a lot of different forms, and we’re on this journey that you’ve mentioned of seeking it, syncing up with those rhythms that are led by the Spirit and not necessarily whatever we want to do.

And so, I say this quote unquote church culture—things like church “in speak” or those things that might make us feel like, oh we’re an “in” crowd, or you have to belong to this church club. Sometimes that form of church culture can be a barrier to actually living missionally because it makes this dynamic of an insider / outsider.

But in contrast to that kind of kingdom culture when we’re embracing that everyone belongs. What are some of those ways that as a local congregation, can we check in with ourselves and assess what kind of culture are we cultivating here in our local church community?

[00:06:41] Julie: It it’s interesting this question made me think about a book that I recently read called Positively Irritating by John Ritner, and I think a lot of GCI members are familiar with him. And he’s quoted saying, “We must stop merely inviting the world to church and instead be the church for the world.”

And I think that a lot of culture with church has been trying to get others to come into a space. And when we have the intentionality of discovering who God is, and discovering who we are, as we have our being in him, we start paying attention to some of the things, some of the rhythms that Christ himself had. And we see Christ going. We see Christ going into homes, sitting with not-yet believers.

And when we see that rhythm, and we discover that we have our being in Christ, we can see ourselves a little different than just a place that we invite others to, but becoming a people that go into a world and sit with others where they’re at. And really that church culture kind of fades away when you think about that. We stop being that in club and that changes as we go out and are willing to sit with others. And where we are willing to be the church every day into a space that’s not our own and sit with Christ.

I think that’s really where that church culture, that “church speak,” changes, when we really discover identity in who Jesus is. And that challenges a lot of what church has been and can be.

That place of “come to us, come to our service, come witness.” Jesus actually asked us to witness, asked us to go, and you don’t become this exclusive club if you’re going out into the community and sitting with others.

You become a place that’s very inviting into relationship and inviting into a relationship with Christ. As they sit with us, the kingdom is shared with others. It’s not just a “come to this place and experience the kingdom.” It’s we go and share the kingdom.

So, we have both cultures, I would say, here in Cincinnati. We’re learning. We have a long—and I think most churches may have a long history of just inviting in and not 100 percent understanding the sent-ness that we have as a church, as a body of Christ.

And so, we’re learning that rhythm. I’m not sitting here as an authority on that at all. I’m in that process of learning that rhythm as God is so gracious. and patient and willing to consistently invite and empower us to go sit with neighbor, to sit with strangers, to sit with community, and to be the church. This is a work in progress. And I thank God that he is willing to work and thank God that he is willing to be so gracious with us as a body of Christ, to give us opportunity.

And as we take that opportunity, as we participate in that, what a blessing it is for us!

[00:10:40] Cara: Absolutely. Oh, amen. And a couple of things that you said really jumped out at me. First, you mentioned noticing the rhythms of Jesus. And so again, coming back to this reality of whose rhythms are we being drawn into and whose rhythms are we being captivated by and choosing really to be formed by and to be shaped by?

And then you mentioned, as a people, that you’re being shaped into that sent people. That comes back to even that first question I asked you about culture, you said, you think of people, right? And we don’t have culture without people.

I really love that you mentioned that because it’s not just about us all on our own, right? But it’s about what is God doing with us together as his people, as he shapes all of us together through these rhythms. So, I really loved how you mentioned that, that dynamic of culture, that as we see and are swept up in those rhythms of Jesus, that we as a collective people are changed and are shaped.

And I think that really even connects to that previous question: how do rhythms contribute to creating culture and how does culture contribute to the rhythms we choose to create? Even that example that you gave of it’s a journey and it’s a process, I feel like speaks to that because when you choose to say, yes, Jesus, show us these new rhythms and it’s a process, then as a people, you’re transformed by him. And then your culture shifts and is different. And so, your desires for his rhythms change. And so, you’re more eager to choose his rhythms.

And it’d be like, “oh, we don’t want this inclusive, exclusive; I’m the insider; you’re the outsider; you come to me” kind of thing. And so, it has this beautiful, transformative, cyclical thing that God’s doing that I hear you describe, even just in Cincinnati, in the church community there.

That’s an incredible thing that God is up to, transforming you all and bringing you deeper into his rhythm. So, thank you for sharing that.

[00:13:11] Julie: Yes. And I think we need to be unafraid to do those temperature checks of our congregations, as a people. And say, what is our rhythm right now? What does somebody who isn’t a part of this, what would they say? What do they see?

And I think being willing to ask some of those questions and willing to hear the answer. All right, you don’t attend our church, what do you see? What do you see? You’re not a member of our church, what do you see? And be willing to ask the neighbor, what is your conclusion on who we are as a people?

And although that’s not going to give you a 100 percent accuracy of all things, that’s going to give you a perspective. But I want to know what my neighbor who is not-yet a believer of Christ thinks of the body of Christ that is next door.

I want to know, and Lord, help me to be humble to receive that truth. And it might be hard, and I pray that is a changing rhythm, that we will—as we grow in that mission of joining God—that perspective will change.

And I think that probably depending on who you ask, you might get a little bit different question, but it gives you a gauge to say, what is the message? What is the reality of us being the church in this community? What does that look like to the people that aren’t of the body of Christ?

Because we could always look at it and we have rose colored glasses. Oh, we’re doing pretty good. We’re doing this. Check. We’re doing this. Check. And we can get in that rhythm of I’ve got an outreach going. Check. I’ve got discipleship. Check. I’m doing a good worship service. Check.

And you can make it this checklist and that’s really not what Christ has invited us into, he’s invited us to join him in mission. And that’s relational. That’s not a checklist. And it’s a rhythm set by him. And it’s the church leaning into that and accepting God, you are God. This is your church. You love these people. Give us the heart that you have for these people.

Help us to participate in that and that’s not easy. But it is such a beautiful place to be when we allow that to be who we are as the church. So, I think it takes some hard conversations, but it’s not to tear us down, but to build us up and to make us aware sometimes of what reflection we really are giving as the body of Christ.

[00:16:07] Cara: Julie, that’s such a good word. That is a very practical way that we can, as a community, do that temperature check. How are we growing and being shaped in our rhythms and in our culture? Because I even think culture is something that’s experienced, right? And when you’re knee-deep in your own culture, sometimes there are things that you become so accustomed to that you don’t even necessarily have the awareness to name it.

And so, to ask somebody else, what do you experience when you step into our community, into our church, into our group of people? What is that experience like? And to hear that from your neighbors—is what they described, does it sound like they experience a kingdom culture? What aspects sound like that? What don’t?

I love to travel. And that’s one of the things I love is experiencing different cultures and what aspects of it are—I find God in pieces of all different cultures. You just experience it in a way, when you cross into a culture that’s not your own, that sometimes is hard to explain. Or maybe somebody wouldn’t even be able to describe their own culture because they’ve just lived it and been in it for so long.

Or somebody is able to point out about my culture—I’m from Boston. So sometimes people are like, hey, and I’m like, oh, I didn’t even know that. I didn’t know we did stuff like that. Or we said that like that or whatever. Because it’s something that, that you just experience.

So, to get that perspective, I think that’s a really meaningful thing. And like you said, it’s not to tear us down, but to build us up. Because yet at the end of the day, what do we have to lose?

Jesus is still Lord. And all that might happen is we are able to see something where we can invite him to shape us more deeply into who he is and who he’s called us to be as his church. Yes. Oh, that’s so good, Julie.

[00:18:18] Julie: And I think that just realizing as a body of Christ, the totality of our following Jesus is not summed up on a Sunday service. That’s not the totality of our Christianity, of our faith in Christ. It is not this one day a week that we go to, and we come together and then we go out and nothing matters.

It’s that’s the church is called to be the church, right? And that the church exists day in and day out as we go. And we need to be aware of that reality of who we are in Christ and that can’t just sit inside a church building on Sunday. We want to gather; we want to have worship. We want to have fellowship; we want to celebrate what God is doing, praise his name, worship our Lord. But we also want to be the church every day as we go.

And just recognizing that reality and allowing our hearts to shift from an attender to a participant, and we have a lot of church attendees. We have fewer church participants, but my hope and my desire is that the work the Lord has started here in the congregations, that he’s going to complete that. I have a pretty good resource that tells me he’s going to complete that.

I’m just basing this on that God is working and that he will continue the work he has started, and he is patient and kind and graceful. And he knows where we’re at, and he knows the steps that we struggle to take, and he is willing to walk that journey with us to take those steps.

And as the church, that we would be in a mindset of, this is your church, Lord. I am the church; I am as I go, Lord. Would you, Lord, work through me? Would you show me? Would you guide my steps? Would you give me the words? Would you help me to be the church? He is faithful in that request, even when we don’t know what that looks like, even when we’re afraid to say anything, even when we are afraid to be on that journey with him.

We have to remember it is our faithful God that we are on the journey with, the one who is faithful in his very being, even when we are faithless. And so, I think it’s that mindset of, I’m not an attender of this church. I am the church and I have been sent—just that shift. And that takes time.

Each of us have probably been in that place of, I attend this church. But to shift into that being in Christ and being the church, that’s not easy. But I am convinced that we do not go alone in that, and I am convinced that it is worthwhile.

[00:21:35] Cara: Yes. Oh, that’s just so beautiful, because that gets beyond even what you said earlier just the checklists, right? But it gets into: who are we really in Christ? What is he really drawing us into? Who has he called the church to be?

I love that. And that’s the thing I think when we’re shaped, allow ourselves to be shaped by his rhythms. And it’s more than just, like you said, we show up to church on Sundays and that’s it, but when we’re drawn into his rhythms and his culture. When I think about, as you were saying, when we think about “I am the church instead of just, I go to church.”

The silly parallel that came to mind is I’m not Bostonian just when I’m in Boston, right? Like I’m sitting here in Charlotte and I’m still from Boston because that’s my culture. That’s who I am. That’s what raised me, right? And so, what if we thought the same way about our identity in Christ, about who we are as a church?

It’s not that we go to church, but we are the church. And that’s true wherever we go, every day of the week, like you said, because it’s not just that we go to church or this checklist, but we are the church. That’s our culture. That’s who made us, who raised us. That’s who we are as people. I think that’s a beautiful thing.

And like you said it’s a faithful God. He’s a faithful God who’s bringing us on that journey. So that’s incredible.

[00:23:13] Julie: You think about cultures, and I think that you have been able to step into and experience various cultures. I think one of the coolest things of going into a different culture is the joy of the people to share that culture with you.

I have sat with so many different friends who are from Nigeria or Israel or England and whatnot and they’re so excited to share with me their favorite dishes. Hey, this is something that I grew up with and I, Julie, want you to try this.

And I love to adventure with food. So, to me, that’s a grand adventure to sit at a table and to share the cultural food of a friend. And you think of the excitement that we approach sharing culture with others as the church, believe it or not, with that excitement and more we can share the kingdom of God.

We can sit and share, excited for others to experience and taste and know.

[00:24:21] Cara: I don’t even have anything to say to that. That’s beautiful.

[00:24:27] Julie: I have a lot of food analogy in my way of thinking. I like food a lot, to me that’s like a happy place, yeah, I love it. I love it. The Bible does say, taste and see that the Lord is good.

[00:24:41] Cara: So, I see nothing wrong with that.

And we’re talking about this growth and this process that God is taking us on too, as we shift and come into his rhythms and to embrace his church culture versus maybe our versions of church culture that can be exclusive or whatever else we might make of it.

But I’m wondering, what does it practically look like to make decisions that shift towards this vision culture, this kingdom culture?

[00:25:18] Julie: I think first and foremost we have to realize that because we have our identity in Christ that’s where everything else flows. And this is not something that we do apart from God, and this is not something that we become apart from God.

It is all centered in him. There’s a beautiful book that I am actually journeying through [with] the leadership here in Cincinnati. I’m journeying with them through this book. And it has been a blessing to me. It just allowed me to sit in that place of just deep gratitude and a place of just embracing the sent-ness that God has given me as his child and as part of the church.

And the book is Overflow, and it’s written by Michael Reeves. And he says something in there that’s stuck with me, as the body of Christ, like a place where we start. And this is what he says, “Mission for us is about entering into the gift of life before we have anything to give away.”

When as the body of Christ, we think of joining that mission that Christ has for us, the first part is entering into that gift of life in Christ. That’s the first part. That first part of, you are my God, and I am your child, and my life is in you.

And that’s not a lot of us doing. That’s a lot of us sitting and receiving what the Lord has given. And it’s from that place that everything else flows. And so, it’s really important for the church and the body of Christ to receive from the Lord who they are, to receive the gift that he has given, to allow God to love them, allow God to speak truth, allow God to speak their identity.

And we start from there. And I’m going to quote Overflow one more time from Michael Reeves. He says, “Mission is the overflow of love from the enjoyment of divine fellowship.”

And so, from that place of entering into life with Christ, everything else flows from that. And so that’s where we enter into a vision culture set by the lead of the Holy Spirit, a place where we identify fully in who Jesus is, knowing that we go forth by his strength alone, by his wisdom, led by his will.

And so, we take all of this burden and things that we can put on ourselves—the insecurity of having to perform or having to say the perfect thing—and we step into a place of him being our source and flowing from that. And that changes it all. It changes everything.

It takes it off of us, and we participate in the joy of relationship with God. And mission becomes us telling others about this one whom we love and sharing that. But we can’t enter into this vision culture without first receiving from Christ.

[00:28:45] Cara: Amen. I think that’s foundational. And listeners, I think that’s not to be missed, but that’s where we start because again, otherwise we’re making and nurturing culture after our own image.

And we’re going to do a little bit of that anyways, right? We’re not perfect. We’re still on the side of eternity, but as the church our purpose is to be grown and formed and shaped after God’s image and to bring that on mission into the world. And so, I think that’s really, Julie, such a powerful word, but that’s where we start. It has to be where we start.

[00:29:33] Julie: And  if we jump into mission without that, then we end up with a bunch of people who are exhausted and are spinning the wheels kind of thing.

And you also struggle for participation because it’s not out of relationship with Christ that the mission goes forth. It comes out of our own will and our own strength. And believe it or not, we just don’t have that strength. We don’t have that strength to continue mission to a world. We just don’t have it.

And we weren’t meant to have it apart from God. We weren’t meant to do this journey apart from God. And so, when we go and we try to do that, it doesn’t usually work out very well. And you end up with a lot of burned out participants and it doesn’t flow from our being in Christ. And it’s so important for us as churches to recognize that initial foundation has to be there before we jump into all of this.

And that’s why it can’t be a checklist. It has to be led by the Holy Spirit. Our churches naturally will participate in mission as they receive from Christ their identity and as they discover who our God is, and they join what he is doing. It just takes so much pressure off of the individual too, and it takes the pressure off the church as a whole.

We haven’t been asked to do anything that Jesus isn’t leading, and we haven’t been asked to do anything that he isn’t already giving the strength for.

[00:31:20] Cara: That’s really good. And I’m wondering on that foundation, something that just came to mind that I’m wondering about is one of the things that I think is so beautiful about who our God is. He never runs out of—oh, what’s the word that I’m looking for? He’s just so creative, and expresses who he is in so many different ways and in diversity and in just so many different flavors, right? Even to come back to that food example, there’s just so many ways that who he is can be expressed because he’s just so full and so rich and never ending.

And so, it makes me think about, on that foundation, there are a lot of ways that different flavors or different nuances that a local church’s culture can take shape. And I like to talk about that when we talk about contextualizing local churches. Sometimes I really like to say, what’s the flavor or the personality of the local church on that foundation that you just described.

And then I think about too, when we talk about contextualization, you mentioned earlier, the larger culture doesn’t necessarily dictate what rhythms the church is formed by, but it can be something that we consider, as we think about our rhythms and do that.

And I think that’s part of contextualization, right? Our God is an incarnational God. He calls us into incarnational ministry, a sent ministry. And so, I’m just wondering, what does that look like? Or can it look like as a church discerns, by the leading of the Spirit, its own flavor and contextualizes its unique personality and grows its unique culture in its specific context that God has brought it to?

[00:33:30] Julie: I think it begins with humility and recognizing that God has sprinkled our churches with diversity for a reason and each church does not exist as a carbon copy of the other. I have these two churches in Cincinnati, and they’re very different from one another.

They’ve been sprinkled differently with the diversity that God has placed within our body and also within the community. And we don’t need to approach that diversity as something to eliminate, but something to embrace and something that we rejoice at the diversity that God has given us in culture and in different races and the rhythm of the community that we’re in.

You recognize sometimes people do things differently and that’s where the humility comes of being willing to consider the giftedness that God has brought, the diversity that God has brought. And ask the Lord, how do you see this being expressed? How does this sprinkle our ministry with that goodness? How are you testifying through this circumstance, through this difference that we have here? And just being willing to have that conversation and allow the cultural beauty of your members and of your community to be expressed in the ways that we participate with Christ.

I think sometimes we try to make little carbon copies of each church, and it’s okay this is what church looks like. I think it’s bigger than that because God has created such diversity. It’s not something that we avoid, or it’s not something that we try to change, but it’s with our expression is the body of Christ that diversity is a blessing. That diversity is something that will add season to our community.

And so, if we look at each member as a seasoning that comes together to make that full taste of the kingdom. And it really begins in the thinking of who we are, trusting who God has created us to be, trusting that each member has been gifted according to the Holy Spirit, and this is a part of who we are as a church to the community around us, embracing that and allowing God to lead that expression.

So, I’m not sure if I’ve answered the question quite well, but I think it’s in embracing of this as a gifting from God. And it does not affect the unity that Christ brings. It actually seasons.

[00:36:44] Cara: Yeah, I really like that image of each person is a seasoning of the taste of the kingdom. Because I think that’s an important thing for us to think about when we’re looking at what are some of the healthy rhythms that we can be embracing by the leading of the Spirit that help us to develop a healthy culture as a local congregation, that doesn’t necessarily lead us to, like you said, those carbon copies or a monoculture across the board. But healthy rhythms and healthy culture can look completely diverse while still being built on that foundation of who Christ is and who we are in him because he’s already shown us he’s such a creative God that has created that diversity

And I loved you use that word with. That’s so good. That’s so good.

As we’re coming up on the end of our time together, Julie, what final words of encouragement would you want to leave with our listeners?

[00:37:45] Julie: I would encourage each person in each congregation to trust what God is doing and to know that he is doing something. Our God is not absent in the world. He is actively working, and he is actively inviting us as the church to join that. You know sometimes, we are uncomfortable with that lead. If we would embrace, as a body of Christ, speaking of Jesus in the way that we care for our neighbors and the way that we invite people into our homes and the way that we walk through the neighborhoods and interact. If we would practice speaking of Jesus, and I’m not—sometimes it does look like it verbally sharing the gospel—but so many times it’s in the actions and the way that we approach others and the way that we are willing to listen to hard things, that we are willing to stand unafraid in the brokenness of the world around us.

We have a foundation that we can trust. And so, I just would encourage us to be unafraid. I was recently going through Acts with my teenagers, and we’ve been reading this together. And we were reading about the disciples going and the Sanhedrin council like holding them for a while then letting them go. And they made some threats of, hey, if you keep talking about Jesus, we’re going to come take care of this.

And they go back to the other believers, and they pray. And their prayer is so significant to me! I think as a church, if we just remember this prayer they prayed—and I’m paraphrasing, I’m not reading this verbatim—they didn’t pray that the threat would go away or that God would take away the trial or that God would hold their enemies back or anything of that sort.

They asked the Lord, hey, consider what’s going on with us in this circumstance. And they asked him to give them boldness to continue to witness. And so that would be my prayer for us as the church when we face things that are hard and things that are uncomfortable and things that are sometimes scary to us.

And yes, the world, stuff that’s going on, it can feel very scary. But that we would stand, and we would continue to pray that, Lord, you see what’s going on. Give us, the church, the boldness to witness. Help us, Lord, because we are afraid at times. We are scared to participate. We do allow our fear to stop us so often, but Lord, give us the boldness to speak Jesus to this world and to share what you have given us.

[00:40:44] Cara: Amen. Thank you so much, Julie, for those final words and for this very full and rich conversation. I know that our listeners will get a lot out of it.

But before we finally close this episode, as is our tradition, I do have a couple of fun, random questions for you. And whatever first comes to mind is the right answer.

Okay. Are you ready?

[00:41:12] Julie: Ready or not, here we come, let’s go.

[00:41:15] Cara: That’s right. If you had to be a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be?

[00:41:21] Julie: How many dinosaurs do I know? You know what? I am fascinated by sharks in like a very real fear, but like a huge respect. So, if this existed and I think there’s evidence it did, the Megalodon.

Here we go. Yeah.

[00:41:38] Cara: Okay. Yes. Very good. Very good. Now I’ll have to go Google what that looks like.

[00:41:45] Julie: A really big shark.

[00:41:47] Cara: Okay. That is very scary. All right. When you’re out and about karaoke and what’s your go to karaoke song?

[00:41:57] Julie: Oh! Brown Eyed Girl.

[00:41:58] Cara: Oh! That’s a good one.

[00:42:01] Julie: It’s the only one I know the words to, and I don’t have a voice that can sing and so that’s not one of the giftings God has given me, but I can let loose and enjoy that song. Yeah.

[00:42:16] Cara: I love that. Grew up on that song. If you had a late night talk show, who would your first guest be?

[00:42:24] Julie: I think I would bring Peter in. I relate with Peter. He is so eager to participate with the Lord, and completely, at times, unaware of all the ways he’s going the wrong way. And I’m like that. I’m like, I want to participate with you, and yet, I don’t know how. And it’s like I just want to, I want to go, and I want to scream from the mountaintops and yet I misstep so often. And I just think that would be a fun conversation because he experienced those things and yet he experienced the grace and restoration of Christ.

And yeah, I just, I think he didn’t give up. He didn’t stop even though being rebuked by Jesus would be really tough to like that would be hard to receive. He continued and I just, I respect that, and I think he would be fun to talk to about that.

[00:43:22] Cara: I agree. I agree. All right. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you this week?

[00:43:31] Julie: I don’t know if you would find this funny, but I laughed so that I didn’t cry. I was at home, and I was getting my sugar down from above my stove and somehow—I live in a house of six and I’ve got teenagers and whatnot and I’m not throwing any blame anywhere, but someone didn’t put the lid on the sugar.

So, when I grabbed it, it slipped, it fell and I had about a pound of sugar in my kitchen and I just started laughing because I’m like, I’m going to cry if I don’t laugh.

[00:44:00] Cara: Yes.

[00:44:05] Julie: And thank God for the vacuum cleaner because that helped the clean up a lot better. So yeah. I laughed and was like, dang it. All right, here we go. We got to roll with these things sometimes.

[00:44:16] Cara: You chose to make it funny. I like that. Yeah.

[00:44:19] Julie: Yes.

[00:44:24] Cara: All right. And last question. Since we learned that you’re a bit of a foodie, what is a food that you really want to try that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

[00:44:35] Julie: I have heard a lot of stories of Scottish food and some people have said it just doesn’t have a lot of flavor and things like that.

And I’m thinking I want to go, and I would love to just sit and [say] throw your best dish at me kind of thing. I have never tried any Scottish food. So, I’d like to. I think Scottish people are amazing, funny. I love their accent and I just want to. That’s a culture I don’t know very much about, and I would love to just experience it. I think that begins with some food sometimes.

[00:45:10] Cara: Oh yeah. Always got to start with the food.

Julie, thank you so much for joining us today. It was a wonderful conversation, and I know our listeners are going to be very blessed. I would love to ask you to end our episode today with praying for our churches, pastors, GCI.

[00:45:33] Julie: Absolutely.

Almighty and gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, that as we gather now, Lord, you are with us. May we know that in the depths of our souls. Lord, we thank you that in this life even when we can struggle and stumble, Lord, you are so faithful.

Help us to remember that as we, as the body of Christ, seek to participate with you. We seek to be the church, and Lord, we don’t always know what that even means. We can have this box and this idea, but Lord, it is your desire, your will, your vision that we seek.

I pray, Lord, that you will help us to lay aside all of our “what that looks like” moments, and to embrace, Lord, what you are leading each and every one of us as a body of Christ.

Help us, Lord, to be courageous, as the early church prayed. Lord, I pray the same for us. I pray, Lord, that we will be courageous and that we will be bold and that we will not be deterred by the things that are scary and hard in this world. But, Lord, that we will have the boldness to continue to share and testify and speak of you.

Lord, you have been so patient and kind, your grace is abundant, help us to know that grace in each and every moment, help us to have that grace for one another, and help us, Lord, to function and to go forth out of our relationship with you, that we will know our strength, we will know our very being is in you, Christ, and so we just thank you, Lord, and just abundantly thankful and grateful, Lord, for You being our God and you calling us into a mission, Lord, that you provide the strength and the resources necessary for.

Dad what a wonderful place it is to be your child and to be loved by you. Help us, Lord, to participate in every way that you give us and every invitation. I pray, Lord, that we all have the courage and boldness to say yes. Help us to have the grace as our churches learn and grow and as our rhythms change.

And as we learn new rhythms, help us to not hold onto things of the past that may be holding us down from stepping into this place with you. Help us to release and to boldly and humbly. Come, Lord. Thank you, God, that you invite us day in and day out. And in Revelation, where it says at the very end that the Spirit says, Come, and the bride says, Come.

Lord, we are the bride. Help us to say, Come. Help us to testify faithfully every day as the church. Lord, thank you. Your grace is abundant. And it is in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

[00:48:24] Cara: Until next time, folks, keep on living and sharing 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.

Gospel Reverb – Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers

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Join us this month as we welcome Dr. Dan Rogers, Pastor of Grace Communion Las Vegas and Professor at Grace Communion Seminary, on Gospel Reverb. Formerly the U.S. Superintendent of Ministers for Grace Communion International and holding a Ph.D. from Union University, Dr. Rogers brings his expertise to our podcast.

In this episode, Dr. Rogers dives into the sermon pericopes for January 2024, offering valuable insights and reflections.


January 7—Baptism of the Lord
Mark 1:4-11, “We’re Not Worthy”

January 14—Second Sunday after Epiphany
John 1:43-51, “Come and See”

January 21—Third Sunday after Epiphany
Mark 1:14-20, “Follow Me”

January 28—Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 8:1-13, “Grace Areas”


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Program Transcript


Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers

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 it’s my delight to welcome our guest, Dr. Dan Rogers. Dan is the pastor of Grace Communion Las Vegas and is a professor at Grace Communion Seminary. And until his retirement, he served as the U.S. Superintendent of Ministers for Grace Communion International. And Dan earned a Ph.D. from Union University.

Dan, welcome back to the podcast. And as you are a seminary professor of homiletics, which is the art of preaching, my question for you is this, as we get started, what advice would you give to preachers who desire to take their proclamation of the gospel to a new level?

[00:01:29] Dan: Thank you, first of all, Anthony, for having me on the podcast today, and thank you for that question. Because the first thing I would recommend is to take the homiletics and preaching class at Grace Communion Seminary. That’s a shameless plug, but very important, and I’m very serious in recommending that.

But in addition to that, I would recommend several things. Most preachers know a lot of research and study is necessary to produce a good sermon. However, prayer should never be overlooked nor relegated to a minor role. I think we probably all pray for inspiration upon our preaching, but we should not forget to pray for proper understanding of the pericope we’re going to preach.

We should pray that what we will say will be accurate and truthful, faithful to the meaning of God’s word. We should also pray for the hearing of the word, that people would hear in the message what God wants them to hear, as God wants them to hear it. We should pray as well that God will empower and motivate a response to the preaching, so that hearers can and will apply what they hear into their lives.

And also, of course, pray that God may be glorified by what is preached. But let me emphasize, I think, what is a much-needed point here. I urge all of us as preachers to preach with intensity and passion. And often when I listen to sermons, including my own, I feel that we have not preached with a passion that is appropriate.

And when I say that, preach with a passion of the text, not your own worked up emotion. Bring the written word of life with the passion, emotion, and feelings of the inspired human author. If you’re preaching from the apostle Paul, he’s encouraging, he’s sad, he’s happy, he’s exhorting, he uses diatribe, rhetoric, sarcasm, anger, and that needs to come through in the preaching of the text from the apostle Paul, as well as other writers of the New Testament.

So, I would just say, participate with the Holy Spirit in passionately calling for a response to God’s word and transformation in the lives of the hearers.

[00:03:58] Anthony: What I hear you saying is there should be integrity. That what we say matches the written word that’s been shared to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

I’m reminded of what Charles Spurgeon said, “It’s not a sermon till we get to Jesus.” It may be a great talk, may be professional, but Jesus is the point. of the sermon.

So, let’s move on to the lectionary passages. That’s why we’ve gathered here today to talk about the four texts in front of us for the month of January.

Mark 1:4-11, “We’re Not Worthy”

John 1:43-51, “Come and See”

Mark 1:14-20, “Follow Me”

1 Corinthians 8:1-13, “Grace Areas”

Let’s pivot to the first pericope of the month. It’s Mark 1:4-11. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition, which is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Baptism of the Lord on January 7.

So, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with] the Holy Spirit.” In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. 11 And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Dan, why was Jesus baptized? And what are the theological implications of his baptism?

[00:06:08] Dan: Anthony, I’m glad this program is several hours long, so I can answer your questions fully. But seriously, I’ll try to give brief answers, but please realize these answers in no way will be exhaustive. Jesus’ baptism is often viewed as Jesus acting in solidarity with the people of Judea, as an example for his followers or as an anointing to his offices as prophet, priest, and king at the beginning of his ministry.

But the theological implications of his baptism are that it was a vicarious baptism on our behalf, done in our place and in which we vicariously participate. It was an act of substitution and exchange.

Jesus shared in our fallen humanity and was baptized into repentance, but it was not his own repentance of his own sins, but his repentance on our behalf. We could never repent totally and sufficiently, so he repented on our behalf. Jesus took our fallen nature, our sins upon himself, and gave us his righteousness in a great exchange.

He received the Holy Spirit and his humanity on our behalf, and heaven opened to us, and Jesus stood before the Father for us. He took what was ours and made it his, and he took what was his and made it ours. He united himself to us in an unbreakable bond and union. And as did Jesus in union with him, we now stand before the Father as his beloved child.

[00:07:54] Anthony: There’s the gospel. What do you make of God the Father’s, or this voice from heaven acknowledgment, affirmation, and blessing of the Son?

[00:08:04] Dan: In the Old Testament, Adam is called the Son of God. The nation of Israel is called the Son of God. David is God’s kingly son, and Isaiah refers to the suffering servant as God’s chosen and whom he delights and upon whom he has put his Spirit.

Now, Mark’s quoting the words of the Father at the baptism of Jesus and the beginning of Jesus ministry, echo these Old Testament identifications with the idea that they’re all fulfilled in Jesus, God’s true, unique son. The statement also identifies Jesus as God.

In Hebraic, though, the expression son of does not always mean a male child of the father. Its connotation is one having the qualities or attributes of. Now, when Jesus called James and John, for example, the sons of thunder, he meant that they were loud and outspoken. So being God’s Son meant Jesus had the qualities and attributes of God. So, in our pericope, we have God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, all actively involved in the baptism of Jesus.

You can say, it was a Trinitarian thing.

[00:09:28] Anthony: It was a Trinitarian thing. And I want to remind our listeners that it’s Christ’s love that leads us to repentance and just keep that in mind as you preach. God doesn’t seem to be too fond of guilt trips. It’s his love that draws us. to him. Hallelujah. Praise God.

Let’s move on to our next passage for the month. It’s John 14:3-51. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the second Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on January 14. Dan, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us, please.

[00:10:01] Dan: All right. I’d be happy to.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

[00:11:23] Anthony: There’s quite a lot in this text, Dan. So, let me ask you this, if you were preaching this sermon, what would be the focus of your sermon?

[00:11:31] Dan: I think a good title for a sermon on this text might be, Who is Jesus and Have You Seen Him? This is a pericope for the season of Epiphany, and Epiphany means revelation.

In other words, seeing something you haven’t seen before. The first chapter of the fourth Gospel begins with revelation and then a series of accounts witnessing to who Jesus is. Now the character of Nathanael is told by his friend Philip to come and see Jesus, who he believes is the Messiah. Now based on some facts and some prejudice, Nathanael doubts who Jesus is.

But upon seeing Jesus and hearing from Jesus, Nathaniel accepts that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. So, a point to bring out is that a conversation with a friend, even a doubting one, and an invitation to come and see Jesus and hear his message can lead to a doubter becoming a believer. Lesson: go and tell your friends about Jesus.

[00:12:43] Anthony: So, that really does touch on the next question, and you’re already digging into this. So, with the fact of “come and see,” it’s a repeated phrase, not just in this pericope [but] other passages in scripture. So, what more would you want to say about it? And is there any sort of relationship, a symmetry to the notion of go and tell?

[00:13:04] Dan: Come and see is such a seemingly innocuous but important phrase. Come is an invitation; it’s a welcome. And when you think about it, most Christian experience begins with an invitation from a previous believer. To someone who is seeking to come and see, to come and see means to experience this for yourself.

It’s when you experience Christ for yourself that you become a believer, but that usually follows an invitation from a believer who has gone to you and given you a message and an invitation to come and see. We see examples in the New Testament, such as the women at Jesus tomb, the Samaritan woman at the well, and in our text of Mark here, Philip going to Nathaniel.

The point? What does it mean? How does it relate? Tell people to come and see. Go and tell folks to come and see.

[00:14:08] Anthony: I’m going to invite our listeners to come and see our next pericope of the month. It’s Mark 1:14-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the third Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on January 21.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

So, Dan, if I can phrase it this way, what is the big idea of this particular passage?

[00:15:17] Dan: A big idea here is, it gives a concrete example of commitment to the ministry of Jesus, to participating with Jesus in his ministry.

Now, this directly applies today to those who know they’ve received a calling to, whatever you want to call it, the ordained ministry, the professional ministry. But some believe they’ve really been called to that kind of ministry, and they have to think about it, and what that entails, and what that means about the future of their lives.

But it also applies to all of us, as we all participate in many ways in the ongoing ministry of Jesus. So, when Jesus calls us to do something, we need to respond because it’s our time. It’s as Mark would say, immediately. It’s our time to receive and respond to God’s call.

Ministry and discipleship may call for us to leave a job, leave property, even sadly, sometimes leave family if need be. And we have to consider our response.

We can either run away from our calling as Jonah did in the Old Testament, or we can respond as Peter, Andrew, James, and John did to Jesus’ call for us to participate with him in his ministry.

[00:16:46] Anthony: Each time I read Mark’s Gospel account, I’m just struck by the speed and urgency of the storytelling. The word immediately, which you’ve already referred to, shows up numerous times in the book and in today’s text.

Even to the point where James and John leave their daddy in the boat, right? What’s behind the urgency of Mark’s telling of the Gospel story?

[00:17:09] Dan: Over half the uses of the word immediately in the entire New Testament are found in the very short Gospel of Mark. Now, there are several theories as to why Mark uses the word immediately so many times.

For example, one is, Mark was young and impetuous. Two, he prefers action over teaching. And three, he was a lousy writer. His Greek is unimpressive with lots of problems in syntax and transitions. But to give Mark some credit, he’s actually a better writer than some would give him credit for being. His purpose is to identify Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.

He begins his short Gospel that way, and he ends it that way. Now, in between, his style produces a sense of urgency. He writes deliberately to that end. For Mark, the time has come. The kingdom of God has come near, and so he wants his readers to understand we need to get ready and respond now, immediately.

[00:18:24] Anthony: Let’s immediately move to our final passage of the month. It’s 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, on January 28.

Dan, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us, please.

[00:18:41] Dan: I’d be happy to. Chapter 8, beginning in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes:

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, but anyone who loves God is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against brothers and sisters and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never again eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

[00:21:04] Anthony: So, looking back through this pericope, the very first verse says that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Knowledge is generally revered, and certainly something we all seek. So, help us understand what Paul is really getting at with this statement, Dan.

[00:21:23] Dan: Okay the Christians in the city of Corinth were blessed with many spiritual gifts. But sadly, this had gone to their heads and caused division in the congregation. Now, one of the gifts, evidently, was the gift of knowledge. The Greek word is gnosis. And it appears to [have] become a popular catch word for the Corinthians.

Now, at least some, evidently, had come to believe that their special knowledge gave them rights and freedoms to act and behave as they wanted. Paul points out that their knowledge really is only partial, and that the basis of Christian conduct is not knowledge but love, as Paul goes on to say in chapter 13 of first Corinthians. “If I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, but do not have love, I am nothing now.”

In other words, if you know that the monarchy of the Trinity is located in the being of God, not in the persons of God, and you understand the perichoresis, the homoousion, and the hypostatic union, and that there is no lacuna in the prolepsis of the eschaton, but that the eschatological Parousia is certain, but you judge and tell me that because I don’t understand that, that I’m a stupid disciple and not worthy of being called a Christian … you just might be a Corinthian! (Apologies there to Jeff Foxworthy.)

[00:22:55] Anthony: As I’m looking at verse nine, Dan, thinking about just what you said. You could have all this knowledge, theological jargon, but if you abuse the liberties that you have and it becomes a stumbling block to others, that’s problematic to God. And I just want to ask you, is there any way that you can contextualize that in the modern day?

Maybe things that you see where we are taking liberty, that is actually becoming a stumbling block to others. Any words that you would say there?

[00:23:32] Dan: Yeah, I would put it this way. If I were giving a sermon and after I had exegeted this pericope, I would probably come back and say something to the effect that, what do we learn from the apostle Paul in this passage?

Some Christians, perhaps relatively new to the faith, though intellectually they knew and understood the gospel, were still subjectively and by habit tied into their old ideas and ways. We can see this today. We see Christians, maybe even ourselves, we say, cross your fingers, or knock on wood, or here’s wishing you good luck. And now we know objectively that those things are superstitions, but it’s a part of our culture, and we still subjectively use those terms.

But so, how should we, as church leaders and senior members of a congregation, act and behave toward folks, especially those who are new? What kind of examples should be set? Paul would admonish the leaders and senior members to be careful. Now what about us? Are we conscious and aware of how our example as church leaders and senior members affect those who are new to our congregations?

What about our example? Now, not in matters of indifference, but in matters that might mislead and hurt new attendees. Might we even lead them into sin by our attitude and conduct?

On one level, what if we knew that some new attendees, because of their former religion or church, believed that it was a sin to eat pork? Would we invite them over to our house or have a fellowship meal at church that offered only pork? Would that be a good way to educate them and break them in?

But even more seriously, and right along the lines of what Paul is talking about in our passage, let me give this example—because what Paul is really talking about is eating meat sacrificed to idols, but eating it at the pagan temple.

Now we’ve got to remember that the pagan temples in those days were kind of their versions of what we might call a restaurant. In other words, if you wanted to get a good steak, where would you go? You’d go down to the local pagan temple because that’s where the animals were slaughtered and butchered and cooked and served as meals. And the community would go there, and they would eat and of course they would have the dancing girls, the prostitutes, the idols and all of that. But hey, it was a good meal.

So let me give this example. It’s something that came to mind while I was watching the TV show The Big Bang Theory. Now, in that show, there’s a character named Barry Kripke.

And Barry likes to invite new acquaintances and new colleagues to have dinner with him at a buffet that has excellent food and is very affordable. Now, the buffet is located in the local strip club. So, what if a church leader or senior church member invited a new attendee to a meal at a strip club? The leader or member could argue they only go there for the food, and they have the character not to look at anything else.

Some in Corinth are making much the same argument about going to a pagan temple for a meal. Now, would any of us do that to a new member? God forbid! We could very well be leading someone into sin, even an addiction, by our so-called freedom and our belief in our own character.

Let’s realize that God has called us to follow and imitate Christ. We’re to walk as he walked; we’re to follow Paul as he followed Christ. Others should be able to follow us as we follow Paul. And as we follow Christ, it’s not about us. It’s not about our freedom. It’s not about our knowledge. It’s about love and concern for others, and we need to realize the importance of setting a right example for other people, of being a light set on a stand, of being a city set on a hill for all to see.

So, what should we do? We should spiritually discipline ourselves and let our example shine. And be a light and a guide to others, because that is love, and the greatest of all gifts is not knowledge. The greatest of all gifts is love. God has all knowledge, but God is love, and we are his children in communion with the Holy Spirit and in union with Christ.

So, what should we do? Let’s grow up to be like our Father and let us grow in love.

[00:28:55] Anthony: Hallelujah and amen.

Pastors, I want to remind you that God could have chosen angels or any other thing he’s created to preach the gospel. But he chose the weak who can sympathize with the weak. He’s chosen you pastors, you preachers, you teachers. Thank you for your labor of love and Christ’s service.

Dan, I want to thank you for participating in the many ways that you have. Thank you for your insights here today. I have no doubt there are nuggets that our preachers are going to be able to take away from our discussion here today. So, thank you so very much for your labor of love.

And I want to thank three people who helped make this podcast possible. Reuel Enerio, David McKinnon, and Elizabeth Mullins. They’re a great team and I certainly could not do this without them.

As is our tradition here on Gospel Reverb, we like to end with prayer. And Mr. Rogers, if you would we’d be grateful for your prayer over our listening audience here today.

[00:30:00] Dan: I’d be happy to, Anthony.

And let me, first of all, say thank you for the job you do on Gospel Reverb. In my opinion, for what it’s worth, I think you do a wonderful job here, and I really enjoy listening to all of your programs. And thank you for allowing me to be a part of them.

So, if you join me now in prayer.

Our great God and Father in heaven, we come to you through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit to praise and to worship you and to realize it is all about you.

And our preaching and our teaching and in everything we do, it’s about you, and it’s about love. Love God and love others, that fulfills everything you’ve asked of us as humans to do.

God, we need your help. We need your power. We need you in our lives. We need to participate with you through the Spirit to bring this about. But God, we trust in you and your faithfulness to do this for us.

Thank you for your word. Help us to rightly understand it, rightly preach it, rightly teach it, and rightly live by it. And let us interpret it all through the lens of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who is our epiphany, who is the one who reveals to us your way, your word, and your being. So, we give you thanks and praise, and ask your blessing, and give you great thanks in the name of our Savior, Jesus. 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!

Sermon for January 7, 2024 – Baptism of the Lord

Program Transcript


EPIPHANY

As the night sky glistens with the brilliance of countless stars, we are drawn to the story of the magi, following a star to worship the Light of the World.

Matthew 2:1-12 recounts their pilgrimage, their hearts set on finding the source of this celestial light, a light that leads to the very presence of God.

In the midst of simplicity, in the heart of the humblest abode, they find the King of Kings, the one they had traveled so far to worship.

Just as the Magi brought their gifts to the Christ child, we, too, offer the gift of our worship, our adoration, and our devotion.

“As we embark on this journey of Epiphany, let us remember that the Light we seek is not confined to a single location, or a single group of people, but shines forth for all to see and bask in the warmth.

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Matthew’s account reminds us that when we seek the Light with open hearts, we, too, will find ourselves in the presence of God.

Today, as we gather in worship, let us offer ourselves to Jesus as the magi did, in awe and reverence before the One who is the true Light of the world.

As we journey through this season of Epiphany, may the Light of Christ continue to lead us, illuminating our path and revealing the boundless love of our Savior.

Amen.

Psalm 29:1-11 • Genesis 1:1-5 • Acts 19:1-7 • Mark 1:4-11

This week’s theme is the manifestation of God’s power. In our call to worship psalm, the psalmist affirms God’s power over nature. In Genesis, we witness God’s power in creating the heavens and the earth. In the book of Acts, we see the power of God as the Holy Spirit falls on new believers. And in our pericope in Mark’s gospel, he records the Spirit descending upon Christ at his baptism.

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

Mark 1:4-11 NRSV

Our sermon today falls on the first Sunday of the year. We can’t change a thing from last year, what’s done is done, what was said is said, it’s all in the past. The old year is dead and buried, never to return. And this is the beauty of baptism, we acknowledge that our old lives were buried at baptism and that we have been raised to new life with Christ.

The church calendar for today focuses on baptism. Specifically, the baptism of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It’s only fitting then, that we should have a closer look at the baptism of Jesus. After all, there was no past Jesus needed to leave behind, there was no sin for Jesus to repent of. So, why was Jesus baptized? What significance does the baptism of Jesus have for our lives? Let’s begin by reading the text.

Read, or have someone read, Mark 1:4-11

What an interesting scene that Mark unfolds for us. Here, you have Jews coming from Jerusalem and all over Judea by the thousands, traveling all the way out into the wilderness. And the reason they were making such an arduous journey, was to repent of their sins and to be baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

Clearly, some form of revival was happening in the nation of Israel at that time. Word had gotten out that something was taking place, and many wanted to be a part of it. John was the first prophet in the land for nearly four hundred years. It was as if the heavens were shut. They may have even wondered if they were still God’s chosen people.

But what may have alerted all these people to come out to the wilderness in the first place? It seems everyone was represented: the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the rulers and the peasants. Couldn’t they just repent and be baptized where they lived rather than endure this major inconvenience and disruption of their lives?

Traveling through the heat, all the possible dangers, and the inhospitable terrain should have caused many to reconsider their holiday plans. They weren’t exactly headed to Disneyland. Let’s see if we can get a better idea of what is happening.

 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:6 NRSVUE)

In this verse, Mark goes into great detail to explain the appearance and lifestyle of John the Baptist. When Mark does this, he knows right away that the bells are going to go off for his intended readers of his gospel account. The Jews would have been very familiar with their major prophet, Isaiah. In Isaiah 20:2, he is described as wearing sackcloth. This would have been a close description to John the Baptist.

In chapter 40, Isaiah prophesies about the voice crying out in the wilderness. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Malachi 3:1-2 also describes a forerunner preparing the way for the messenger of the covenant. And of course, this is exactly what John is doing. When you add all this up, this would not have escaped anyone’s notice in the nation of Israel. This also came at a time of spiritual dryness in their history. They were hungry for good news. Could it be that their spiritual barrenness was about to come to an end?

The people had come to repent and to be baptized. Being baptized in the Jordan would have held great significance for these people. In order for their ancestors to enter the promised land, they had to enter into the Jordan. When they came up out of it, they would have made it to the promised land. So, coming up out of the waters is where they found liberation.

It’s common that when people are at their lowest point they are ready to receive the good news of the gospel. Our sin leads us into a place of desolation. Our hearts are dry, and our souls are parched from wandering the wilderness. We discover that this life of sin is actually a life of death – the antithesis of life itself.

Sin is no respecter of persons. The young and the old, the rich and the poor, the rulers and the peasants — all have been inflicted. Sin takes us out into the wilderness. Yet it is here in the wilderness where sin is destined to reach its end. Because it is here we find the Living Water, Jesus Christ, who takes our sins upon himself and brings us up in true and lasting liberation. We will say more about that in a few moments.

First, it’s appropriate to look back and see how far along the Lord has taken you, to appreciate the new life, this liberation he has gifted you with. We should have a sense of gratitude for all God has accomplished in our lives through Christ. We should remember and appreciate the ways we are now walking in freedom where once there was only guilt, shame and fear.

He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7-8 NRSVUE)

So, we have established the connection between the words of Isaiah and the ministry of John the Baptist. But something else is going on here. A much greater conclusion is being drawn from this connection. Isaiah 40 is a messianic psalm taking imagery from Psalm 28 and Psalm 103. Further into that Psalm you will see the emergence of the Messiah.

The people, no doubt, were not just going out to repent and be baptized, but to also anticipate the imminent appearance of the Messiah. John heightens their expectation for the one to come in verse 7 where he states that the One coming after him is much greater than him. The people were already convinced that John was a prophet, yet this prophet said he is unworthy to untie the sandals of someone else. You can sense the excitement and anticipation building at this point.

John indicates that while he just baptized them with water, the Messiah will baptize them with the very Spirit of God. What an exciting proposition John is describing! This had to mystify the crowd as to what that would even look like.

To be able to embrace a Messiah, is to understand that you need one in the first place. We need to understand that there is something faulty within us and all of humanity. We need to understand that without divine intervention, we are doomed to live a life that keeps us in the desert. We are doomed to live a life that keeps us trapped without a means of salvation.

 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11 NRSVUE)

The baptism of Jesus is the first occurrence where we see each member of the Trinity explicitly represented in the Bible. We see the Son (Jesus) submitting to the Father in baptism, by faith. We witness the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and the Father expressing words of affection and approval over the Son.

While we must not minimize the importance of our own baptism, we should regard the baptism of our Lord as accomplishing something far beyond what our own baptism does. We are to understand that through Christ, humanity has been taken through the waters of baptism. Jesus repented on our behalf, not on his, as he had nothing to repent of. Though he was sinless, he was the only one who could offer a perfect repentance. His submission to the Father was for our sakes, as he was already submitting to God perfectly on our behalf by faith.

The good news is that we have been included into the faith of the Son of God. The Spirit has been poured out upon us, and it is here that we are able to experience the great fellowship that exists in the Trinity.

Through Jesus, we have left behind all the years of needless wandering in the wilderness of sin with all its dryness and desolation. The new has come and in Jesus’ baptism we see our sins and failings washed away. We have been immersed into his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

Jesus is our promised land. Like the Jews of old, we have passed over and a new life has begun. However, that Living Water stays with us. You can’t have one without the other. Jesus is both our Promised Land and Living Water. This is true and complete liberation. We are free in him.

So, why was Jesus baptized? Because he was pleased to bring us into the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have been included, which was what has always been on the very heart and mind of God. Just as the old year is dead and buried, we have died to Christ and raised to a new life to experience a freedom that is only found in God’s selfless love.

Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W1

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January 7—Baptism of the Lord
Mark 1:4-11, “We’re Not Worthy”

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Program Transcript


Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W1

Anthony: So, let’s move on to the lectionary passages. That’s why we’ve gathered here today to talk about the four texts in front of us for the month of January.

Mark 1:4-11, “We’re Not Worthy”

John 1:43-51, “Come and See”

Mark 1:14-20, “Follow Me”

1 Corinthians 8:1-13, “Grace Areas”

Let’s pivot to the first pericope of the month. It’s Mark 1:4-11. I’ll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version, the updated edition, which is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Baptism of the Lord on January 7.

So, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with] the Holy Spirit.” In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. 11 And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Dan, why was Jesus baptized? And what are the theological implications of his baptism?

Dan: Anthony, I’m glad this program is several hours long, so I can answer your questions fully. But seriously, I’ll try to give brief answers, but please realize these answers in no way will be exhaustive. Jesus’ baptism is often viewed as Jesus acting in solidarity with the people of Judea, as an example for his followers or as an anointing to his offices as prophet, priest, and king at the beginning of his ministry.

But the theological implications of his baptism are that it was a vicarious baptism on our behalf, done in our place and in which we vicariously participate. It was an act of substitution and exchange.

Jesus shared in our fallen humanity and was baptized into repentance, but it was not his own repentance of his own sins, but his repentance on our behalf. We could never repent totally and sufficiently, so he repented on our behalf. Jesus took our fallen nature, our sins upon himself, and gave us his righteousness in a great exchange.

He received the Holy Spirit and his humanity on our behalf, and heaven opened to us, and Jesus stood before the Father for us. He took what was ours and made it his, and he took what was his and made it ours. He united himself to us in an unbreakable bond and union. And as did Jesus in union with him, we now stand before the Father as his beloved child.

Anthony: There’s the gospel. What do you make of God the Father’s, or this voice from heaven acknowledgment, affirmation, and blessing of the Son?

Dan: In the Old Testament, Adam is called the Son of God. The nation of Israel is called the Son of God. David is God’s kingly son, and Isaiah refers to the suffering servant as God’s chosen and whom he delights and upon whom he has put his Spirit.

Now, Mark’s quoting the words of the Father at the baptism of Jesus and the beginning of Jesus ministry, echo these Old Testament identifications with the idea that they’re all fulfilled in Jesus, God’s true, unique son. The statement also identifies Jesus as God.

In Hebraic, though, the expression son of does not always mean a male child of the father. Its connotation is one having the qualities or attributes of. Now, when Jesus called James and John, for example, the sons of thunder, he meant that they were loud and outspoken. So being God’s Son meant Jesus had the qualities and attributes of God. So, in our pericope, we have God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, all actively involved in the baptism of Jesus.

You can say, it was a Trinitarian thing.

Anthony: It was a Trinitarian thing. And I want to remind our listeners that it’s Christ’s love that leads us to repentance and just keep that in mind as you preach. God doesn’t seem to be too fond of guilt trips. It’s his love that draws us. to him. Hallelujah. Praise God.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think it’s important to get baptized?
  • Name some reasons why Jesus was baptized for us?
  • What are some things that you are grateful that God has buried and taken from you?
  • What are some ways that you are experiencing new life in Christ?
  • How do you see the Holy Spirit operating in your life?

Sermon for January 14, 2024 – Second Sunday After Epiphany

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 3008 | Lukewarm Coffee
Cara Garrity

I have a friend who likes her coffee lukewarm. Her husband on the other hand will only drink it piping hot. Early in their marriage this created a moment of tension. One morning her husband prepared some fresh hot coffee just the way he would like it. Then he surprised her with a cup to enjoy for her morning reading. She seemed touched by the gesture, but he noticed that she didn’t drink it. In fact, she let it sit so long that he knew it would no longer be any good. From his perspective she had wasted his efforts of kindness.

But, instead of showing frustration, he took her coffee and went to heat it up in the microwave. Now it was her turn to be frustrated. From her perspective he was about to undo her patient waiting for the perfect cup of coffee. Thankfully, with some sharing of coffee preferences, marital disaster was averted. The problem wasn’t that her husband didn’t know how to brew coffee. It was that he didn’t know his wife.

I think we could all agree that the best gifts come from those who know us best.

With that in mind, listen to this Psalm that speaks of the Lord’s knowing of us.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” Psalm 139:1-4 (NRSV)

We could read more of this passage to discover that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. As the one who created us, we can know that he is the only one who knows us perfectly. And that means he knows the perfect gift to give us. The Christmas season we just celebrated was all about that perfect gift—Jesus Christ his one and only Son. In this gift, God the Father has given us himself to be known. This is what we were created for, to know the Father like the Son knows the Father.

When we receive the gift of Jesus, we will also have an epiphany about ourselves. As we come to know Jesus, we will come to know ourselves the way our Creator knows us. It’s only after receiving the gift of Jesus that we come to see that knowing the Father and being known by him is the life we are made for.

And since he knows us perfectly, we can trust he knows how to brew the perfect cup of coffee—even if it’s lukewarm coffee.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 • 1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20) • 1 Corinthians 6;12-20 • John 1:43-51

This week’s theme is God’s divine intimate knowledge. In our call to worship psalm, David affirms that nothing in his life escapes God’s notice. In 1 Samuel, the young prophet receives the word of the Lord concerning Eli the priest. In 1 Corinthians, Paul declares that we are in intimate union with God through Christ. And in our pericope in John, Jesus reaches Nathanael by telling him things that only God could know about him.

Can Anything Good Come from Nazareth?

John 1:43-51 NRSV

A young college student was invited by his girlfriend’s grandparents to join them one Sunday afternoon at their farm. As he perused their ample garden, he saw several rows of large leaves with reddish stalks attached to them. He asked his girlfriend what they were. She exclaimed, “Those are rhubarb plants, and tonight we will have strawberry rhubarb pie.”

The young student recalled the dozens of times that his mother told him and his siblings that rhubarb was the worst thing on God’s green earth and was not fit for human consumption. She declared that nothing good has ever come from those plants.

After finishing his dinner at the farm, a strawberry rhubarb pie was placed before him. He just knew that nothing good could come from this, but he didn’t want to be rude. He cautiously took a very small bite and as he did his eyes lit up. He started digging into the tasty desert taking bite after bite until it was devoured without a crumb left on his plate. Something good did come from that cursed plant after all.

In the gospel of John, Nathanael asks the question, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” The answer for us is obvious as we have the benefit of reading the end of the story. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. But the answer for Nathanael wasn’t so obvious.

As we read today’s text, we will examine those places within us that we may still have a hard time believing. We may uncover where our prejudices lie concerning who we expect God to be. Can he be trusted? The text and sermon today are inviting us to come and see.

Read John 1:43-50

Verse 43 starts out with “The next day…” To give us some context, we have to go back to the previous day. And on the previous day, we see Andrew encountering Jesus. He decides to follow Jesus and then goes to find his brother, Peter, who also follows Jesus. And this brings us up to speed for today’s text.

At the beginning of our text, we have Jesus issuing an invitation to Philip to follow him. Philip, as scripture indicates, was from the same town (Bethsaida) as Andrew and Peter. Might they have known each other? It seems likely. In any case, there is a strong presence of relationship among the disciples of Jesus, which we are about to glimpse more of.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  (John 1:43-50 NRSVUE)

Prior to our text, we saw Andrew finding Peter; after our text begins, we see Jesus finding Philip and Philip finding Nathanael and telling him about how they found Jesus, the Messiah. That’s a whole lot of finding. Which gives us the indication that there must also have been a whole lot of searching as well.

In 1976, Campus Crusade for Christ started a bumper sticker campaign in the United States. They worked with thousands of churches to distribute and display a slogan on car’s bumpers that said, “I Found It.” There was an 800 number also listed that people could call to find out what had been found, although, writing down a phone number while driving was definitely not a good idea.1 The truth is, we cannot take credit for finding “It.” Which, if you haven’t figured out what the “It” was — it was Jesus. And we didn’t find him, he found us.

Philip did not “find” Jesus as a result of an active search, neither did Andrew or Peter. They were most likely keenly aware of what was written about the Messiah in the law and the prophets, and in some ways they were always looking, but the truth remains, Jesus found them.

Long before any of us had any thoughts of following Jesus, of wanting and desiring to know God, he was the one looking for us. Notice what the Psalmist says:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6 NRSVUE)

Where is the hope in us going out and trying to find God? If it is up to us, we are doomed to failure. But the good news is that we have a God who has found humanity and has embraced us as his own through the very life of Christ.

Obviously, Philip is very excited about encountering Jesus. He is convinced that Jesus is the one that they have been waiting for. Jesus seems to line up for him what was written about the Messiah, and Philip is eager to share this good news with Nathanael. But there is a problem. Nathanael needs a little more convincing.

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael’s response was full of doubt, disbelief, prejudice, and suspicion. We might be tempted to think that this would have been just something that was unique to Nathanael, but this is probably a question that many Jews would have had.

Nazareth was a small hill town in Galilee of about 400 residents.2 But what that town was known for primarily was having a Roman Garrison, a stronghold full of Roman soldiers. Most Jews would have avoided Nazareth like the plague because of this. To make matters worse, many of its residents were poor, and therefore, they were held in suspicion as traitors or perhaps even spies for the Romans.3 The Nazareth chamber of commerce had their work cut out for them.

Once again, Philip doesn’t help his own cause. Technically, he was correct in saying that Jesus was from Nazareth, as that was where he grew up. But Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is part of the mighty tribe of Judah. It was also the birthplace of King David. Bethlehem is the kind of place from where messiahs are supposed to come. The book of Micah, in the Old Testament even prophesies this.

We prefer our messiahs to be nice and respectable, from well-to-do families, to wear three-piece-suits and to be on our side of the political aisle to the exclusion of our enemies. We want predictable and pious messiahs, but certainly not messiahs who come from questionable backgrounds, or who might challenge our paradigms.

If Philip had included this part of Jesus’ lineage, about Jesus being from Bethlehem, then Nathanael could have had a lot easier time accepting Philip’s invitation. However, this should also give us hope. Despite our best intentions and zeal, we don’t always present the gospel in the most accurate light. But more importantly, there is a God who is more than capable of using even our inadequacies. God is not dependent on our perfect presentations, but on the activity of the Holy Spirit working through what we have shared. He will have the final word in a person’s life.

Philip’s reaction is to answer Nathanael by saying “come and see.” Come and see who Jesus is and what he is all about. The key is taking a good hard look at Jesus. People who are skeptical of Christianity like to point out the inconsistencies between our words and our actions. They point at disgraced evangelists and those in the church that have perpetrated harm on others. They try to discredit the Bible as mere fables as well. We should be honest about these things in a spirit of humility. But there is something that we can do even better. Point them towards Jesus, himself. We can issue the invitation to “come and see.”

As a church, what is our ultimate aim with people? Is it to impress them with our buildings, our programs, charismatic leadership, dynamic worship, free coffee and donuts? Or is it to get them to see Jesus? And the Jesus that they most need to see is the Jesus in us — to see how Jesus is expressing his life through us as his body.

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” (John 1:47-48 NRSVUE)

Jesus begins ministering to Nathanael before they are even face to face. He cannot wait to start giving him the good news. As Nathanael is walking towards him, Jesus begins to read the contents of Nathanael’s heart to him. Nathanael is incredulous. “How can you know me?” And to sum up what Jesus says to him, “There isn’t anything that I don’t know about you, Nathanael.” Again, we read from the Psalmist:

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; (Psalm 139:13-14 NRSVUE)

Nathanael is seen by Jesus. Not just physically, but more importantly, Jesus sees into him. Jesus affirms something in Nathanael that perhaps he doesn’t feel has been recognized until now. Jesus speaks to his very need. And although we don’t know what was going on with Nathanael at the fig tree, it was important to him and therefore important to Jesus.

So many people go through this life feeling like no one really knows them. And yet they long for just one person with whom they can share the deepest part of their being. The author, John Lynch once wrote:

What if there was a place so safe that the worst of me could be known, and I would discover that I would not be loved less, but more in the telling of it.4

Jesus tells us there is such a place. And he has been calling all of us from that place. The same place that he called Nathanael from. God, in his overflowing heart for humanity has been crafting a way to reach us all.

Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” (John 1:49-51 NRSVUE)

Nathanael saw who Jesus was. His heart was touched in an intimate way. In fact, he is the first person documented in the Bible for making a verbal confession of Jesus as the Son of God. Nathanael came, and he did see!

Church tradition says that Nathanael traveled to several countries, but he is most recognized for bringing the gospel to Armenia, where he was eventually martyred for his faith. Nathanael assuredly received the promise from Christ, that he would see the heavens opened and that Jesus, himself, would be present there with the angels.

Today, let us turn from our prejudices about God. Let us accept him who has accepted us in all of the love and grace that flows from the Father. Let us put aside anything that distorts the fundamental character and nature of Christ from being shown to a world that watches us. May we be led by the Holy Spirit to go and simply offer the invitation to come and see that something very good has indeed come from Nazareth.

Resources:
1) https://www.baptistboard.com/threads/i-found-it-sticker.12746
2) https://jesus-story.net/about-nazareth
3) https://iamohanyere.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/can-anything-good-come-out-of-nazareth/
4) Lynch, McNicol and Thrall: “The Cure” What if God isn’t who you think He is and neither are you. (San Clemente, CA: Crossection, 2011)
5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle

Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W2

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January 14—Second Sunday after Epiphany
John 1:43-51, “Come and See”

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Program Transcript


Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W2

Anthony: Let’s move on to our next passage for the month. It’s John 14:3-51. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the second Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on January 14. Dan, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us, please.

Dan: All right. I’d be happy to.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Anthony: There’s quite a lot in this text, Dan. So, let me ask you this, if you were preaching this sermon, what would be the focus of your sermon?

Dan: I think a good title for a sermon on this text might be, Who is Jesus and Have You Seen Him? This is a pericope for the season of Epiphany, and Epiphany means revelation.

In other words, seeing something you haven’t seen before. The first chapter of the fourth Gospel begins with revelation and then a series of accounts witnessing to who Jesus is. Now the character of Nathanael is told by his friend Philip to come and see Jesus, who he believes is the Messiah. Now based on some facts and some prejudice, Nathanael doubts who Jesus is.

But upon seeing Jesus and hearing from Jesus, Nathaniel accepts that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. So, a point to bring out is that a conversation with a friend, even a doubting one, and an invitation to come and see Jesus and hear his message can lead to a doubter becoming a believer. Lesson: go and tell your friends about Jesus.

Anthony: So, that really does touch on the next question, and you’re already digging into this. So, with the fact of “come and see,” it’s a repeated phrase, not just in this pericope [but] other passages in scripture. So, what more would you want to say about it? And is there any sort of relationship, a symmetry to the notion of go and tell?

Dan: Come and see is such a seemingly innocuous but important phrase. Come is an invitation; it’s a welcome. And when you think about it, most Christian experience begins with an invitation from a previous believer. To someone who is seeking to come and see, to come and see means to experience this for yourself.

It’s when you experience Christ for yourself that you become a believer, but that usually follows an invitation from a believer who has gone to you and given you a message and an invitation to come and see. We see examples in the New Testament, such as the women at Jesus tomb, the Samaritan woman at the well, and in our text of Mark here, Philip going to Nathaniel.

The point? What does it mean? How does it relate? Tell people to come and see. Go and tell folks to come and see.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • What are some prejudices you may have felt about God in the past?
  • How did your views begin to change about God?
  • What are some ways that we can share our faith with others?
  • How can we partner with the Holy Spirit to be more aware of those who need Jesus?

Sermon for January 21, 2024 – Third Sunday After Epiphany

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 3009 | Jonah—Prophet or Cautionary Tale
Greg Williams

If you ask anyone about Jonah, what will they say the story is about?

The whale. Every kids’ book and cartoon adaptation of Jonah features some hybrid of Moby Dick and Jaws creeping up out of the seaweed to swallow the hapless prophet.

But the real story is much bigger. Jonah is asked by God to avert the destruction of Israel’s sworn enemy, Nineveh. Jonah, out of an ethnic hatred of these people and anger about God showing them mercy, ran in the other direction as fast and far as he could.

At one point, he even chose to kill himself by jumping into angry seas rather than obeying God’s call. In his own rage and bitterness, he would rather die than soften his will to God’s.

God turns the tables on him by sending, as we all know, a giant fish.
God turns the tables again by hearing the Ninevites repenting and holding back his judgment.

But Jonah remains unmoved. He ends the whole book arguing with God over whether God is allowed to show mercy to these people.

In a sense, Jonah gets his theology right, but he misses who God is. Sure the Israelites are the people of God, sure the Assyrians were bloodthirsty and godless, but in the book of Jonah we read, God is:

 “…a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah 4:2 (ESV)

Isn’t that who we want God to be? Sure! But Jonah was blinded by his own self-preservation and his own thoughts on how God should be acting. Instead of a prophet, his story became a cautionary tale.

Has that ever happened to us? Have we ever so figured out how God should be acting that we miss what he’s doing? Does an obsession with theological details sometimes cause us to lose the big picture—that God loves the world and wants to draw everyone to himself?

Let’s not forget that God’s main business is love—and that love is messy, fuzzy, spontaneous, and generous. He’s not going to follow whatever expectations we have for him, and he’s not consulting us on how far to extend his grace. Halleljujah! Let’s be grateful! Embrace his lavish love for you and for your perceived enemies. That’s how GOOD God is.

I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

Psalm 62:5-12 • Jonah 3:1-5, 10 • 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 • Mark 1:14-20

This week’s theme is epiphanies demand a response. In our call to worship psalm, affirmation of God’s faithfulness enables a renunciation of placing vain hope in riches. Jonah, although reluctant, serves as an instrument of bringing God’s message to Nineveh that gained a response of repentance. Our reading from 1 Corinthians records Paul’s reminder that all other values are minimized by the surpassing worth of Christ. The Gospel text in Mark recounts the fishermen who leave everything behind when called by Jesus.

A Proclamation and Calling

Mark 1:14-20 ESV

It doesn’t take Mark long to tell a story. Our text today begins only fourteen verses into chapter one and Mark is already introducing the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Mark begins his Gospel account with a short section on John the Baptist, which leads to an even shorter section on Jesus’ baptism, which is then followed by only two verses to tell of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness. In quick order Mark accounts for the work of preparation that paves the way for Jesus’ ministry. In our passage today we are given a quick look into what Jesus’ ministry entails. Namely, a ministry of preaching and calling.

As we look at these two aspects of Jesus’ ministry, we are also given an epiphany of who God is and what he has done and is doing in Jesus Christ. Although Mark is short in the telling of his narratives of Jesus’ life and ministry, his briefness does allow us a laser focus on what is essential to the gospel message. Since Mark does not provide many details in his stories, we look at the details he does provide as loaded with weighty meaning. We will try to take note of those details as we go. But first, let’s see how Mark chooses to introduce the beginning of Jesus’ ministry:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)

Notice that Mark lets us know that John’s ministry of preparation is over. Using John’s arrest, Mark removes John the Baptist from the scene and transitions from preparation to arrival. Jesus has arrived and there is no turning back. The focus going forward is fully on Jesus. However, Jesus’ arrival is in Galilee and not Jerusalem or Rome. The Lord’s ministry does not need to make a huge splash or begin in the spotlight of the grand and majestic. Jesus is content to start in the small, isolated corners that we find ourselves in, and not in the perceived center of the stage so often marked out by power, prestige, and popularity. When Jesus comes to us, we can trust that we are, in that movement, at the very center of the universe. There is nothing more majestic or grand than what Jesus is doing in our midst. This is the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father does not move on to bigger and better things to make a name for himself. He comes to us in our “Galilees” to glorify his name among us.

Using John the Baptist’s arrest, Mark is also able to make hint of the conflict that will come later for Jesus as he carries out his ministry. Just as John was arrested, so Jesus will be. But even with this foreshadowing of conflict, we are to anticipate that Jesus will not be deterred from his mission of proclaiming the good news and calling us into it. For Jesus, there is nothing more important than his mission to save us. He will not be distracted or hindered, no matter the amount of conflict he must endure. This ominous “arrest” can also serve to prepare us for the conflict that awaits those who will become his followers. Following Jesus will not be easy, but it will be incomparably so worth it! Because of who Jesus is and what he has done for us, we too can face all conflict as we turn to him in faith. No matter what we face, we can always turn to the one who is forever, and immovably, turned toward us.

With John the Baptist off the scene, Mark presents Jesus’ ministry first and foremost as a “proclaiming” of the gospel which has everything to do with the “kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is a politically loaded statement. We often want to avoid making “political” statements as they seem so divisive, and certainly often are. However, “kingdom” language is clearly political in content and is not to be dismissed as philosophical talk, moral advice, or therapeutic spirituality. The message Jesus proclaims is to the whole world and it has implications to all issues within it. The gospel is not held at bay by the political polarization presented to us. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, and he brings with him God’s kingdom. It doesn’t get any more political than that.

The difference we see in this “political” message is that it is “the gospel of God” meaning it is the good news that God declares to us in his Son Jesus. It’s the “bad news” politics of our day that must take a back seat to Jesus’ proclamation, not the other way round. No doubt, such a proclamation will indeed bring Jesus and us into conflict with the powers that be who oppose and resist the proclamation that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Notice how that proclamation is a stated reality, not a potential or comforting thought. It is a declaration of something that has already taken place with a forward motion towards completion. Like the first sight of the rising sun that breaks the darkness of night, you know there is no stopping it. It’s just a matter of time till the darkness becomes full day. You can resist it, but only by closing your eyes and pretending it’s not there.

But this proclamation does not stand alone. It demands a response. And that response is to “repent and believe in the gospel.” This may be why this story finds itself on the calendar for the Season of Epiphany. Epiphanies are those moments when we see something that was once hidden. When this happens, we will want to make some changes to fit the reality that we now see. Have you ever bumped your shin walking through a dark room? If the lights get turned on you can clearly see the coffee table that you were bumping into. Now that you see the coffee table, it would be foolish to take the same path. That’s why the response to the proclamation of the gospel is to “repent,” which essentially means to change your mind and act accordingly. But, along with that response of repentance is the response of “believe in the gospel.” This means that not only do we see the “coffee table” but we trust that a new path is good for us.

We must come to trust that the news of God’s kingdom and his reign is in fact “good.” And to do that we must come to know that the King is indeed a good king who has our best interest in mind. In this way, repentance is a joyful turning to the Lord and a deliberate turning away from all that prevents us from knowing him more. So, we do not repent out of some self-willed determination to be our best selves. Rather, we come to rely and trust on the Lord’s word to us, turning to him and leaving behind all that is not fitting to the relationship with him that he calls us into. In this way we repent, even when we don’t feel it or understand it. We do it out of trust in the one who has proven to be trustworthy.

That’s all Mark gives us for now regarding Jesus’ ministry of preaching. He swiftly moves into Jesus’ ministry of calling. And as he does, we are able to see a little more of the heart and character of this one who proclaims the good news to us and calls us to himself. Along with the story of Jesus calling his first disciples, we gain some epiphanies of who God is as revealed in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. As we look at these few verses recounting Jesus calling his disciples, we will keep an eye out to know the one who is calling us today. We will find that he is good, trustworthy, and worth following. Let’s revisit how Mark tells it:

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:16-20 ESV)

First, we see that Jesus is on a journey. He seems to have a destination in mind as he is “passing alongside the Sea of Galilee.” He is not setting up camp or looking for a place to settle down. He is on the move. But this does not mean he is passing by those he calls. We come to know later that his calling is a special one, reserved for those who will be entrusted with the keys of the kingdom and the charge to pass on the message of the gospel to future generations. Part of that message we have before us in this story. Thanks to Mark’s faithfulness to his calling, we can hear Jesus’ calling to us today in this passage.

Before we get to their response to Jesus’ calling, we should take note that this is a personal calling. Jesus is not blasting his call over a megaphone with some generic message to random fishermen to come follow him. Notice how Mark describes the calling. Jesus first “saw Simon and Andrew.” What a comfort that Jesus’ calling to us is not divorced from his seeing and knowing us by name. He is first and foremost calling us into a relationship with him. And Jesus doesn’t just see us as isolated individuals. He sees and knows us, along with the relationships we are connected to. Simon and Andrew are brothers, and that detail does not escape Jesus’ seeing eyes. He knows who is important to us and the implications his calling will have on our relationships. Jesus also sees our status in life. There is no mention of a boat for Simon and Andrew, so we might surmise they were fishing from shore, indicating they weren’t well off in life.

Now that Jesus has seen them for who they are and where they stand, he calls them. Notice that his call is not without promise and hope. His calling is not just from something, but into something far greater than what must be left behind. They are called to “become fishers of men.” The contrast here from literal fishing to “fishers of men” indicates a radical new trajectory of their life. And our calling is the same. Jesus is not calling us to put our life on hold to do something we’d rather not do. He is calling us into the true life we are created for. The comparison of our former life is a radical improvement that we can’t possibly quantify from our own perspective. But Jesus is telling us in his calling that what he intends to do with us will amount to an astounding transformation which we can liken to the difference of smelly fish and living people. And even that analogy falls woefully short.

Now we see how these two poor fishermen responded. They did not hesitate, ask questions, or seek further explanation. They didn’t sit there and say, “Well Jesus, that’s an interesting notion. Maybe we should make a pros and cons list.” No, their response was immediate. They followed Jesus. And that immediate response involved leaving “their nets” which is equivalent to leaving all that they knew, for we are told that they “were fishermen.” Now some of us may be thinking, “Well, being a fisherman with little money in that day was some serious hard work with no guarantee of good returns. No wonder they didn’t think twice about following Jesus. Surely, they would just as soon follow any Rabbi promising something better.”

Not so fast. Let’s look at the details in Jesus calling James and his brother John. Here we have two more fishermen and brothers, but they have a boat along with hired servants. They are doing pretty well in the fishing business. We also see that they are “mending the nets.” Are we to conclude that they are wrapping up their fishing journey compared to the first set of brothers, Simon and Andrew, who were in the middle of fishing? Jesus’ calling may come while we are busy at our task or when we are closing shop. Either way, Jesus calls us according to his timing, not ours. Either way, we see that these brothers also responded by leaving all to follow Jesus’ immediate call.

We have two sets of brothers representing two different stations in life. Jesus is no more deterred in calling the well-off fishermen as he was in calling the poor ones. What a breath of fresh air to know that our Lord does not size us up according to our success or lack of success in life! He is not looking for the privileged or the underprivileged. He is looking for followers. In the end, our stations in life are nothing in comparison to where he is taking us and what he is doing with us. If you have ever looked down from a skyscraper and seen people walking below, you understand how it is pretty much impossible to tell who is taller or shorter. They all look like ants. From the perspective of Jesus’ high calling, we will never look back on our status as something contributing to where Jesus takes us.

Regardless of who we are, where we come from, what station in life we find ourselves in, or who we are related to, Jesus’ call demands the same immediate response to follow. We are all called to leave everything behind to follow him into his good kingdom in which he reigns.

That’s all we get from Mark on Jesus calling his first disciples. Perhaps we wish he provided more details, more backstory. We may become uneasy with the immediacy of Jesus’ call and the disciples’ immediate response to it. What does Mark mean for us to do with his short and curt telling of Jesus’ ministry of preaching and calling? Perhaps it will be helpful to note that Mark’s emphasis on Jesus’ ministry is the message that the kingdom of God is at hand. The emphasis is on the reality that has been established by the coming of Jesus Christ. Everything has changed. As soon as we see it, as soon as we are called into it, there is absolutely no reason for delay.

What about you and me today? Do we hear the Lord calling us? Are there things we need to immediately leave behind in order to follow him? Do we need to take another look at who Jesus is and hear once again the good news of his kingdom in order to turn once again to follow him? Do we need to embrace once again or for the first time the promise that Jesus calls us into a life that will far outpace anything we can attain for ourselves?

Let’s rephrase this: are you hearing the Lord call you today? He sees you, he knows you, and there is nothing to keep you from following him. Whether you are hearing him call you for the first time or for the 101st time, the response is the same. Repent and believe in the gospel and follow the Lord who is calling you.

Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W3

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January 21—Third Sunday after Epiphany
Mark 1:14-20, “Follow Me”

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Program Transcript


Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W3

Anthony: I’m going to invite our listeners to come and see our next pericope of the month. It’s Mark 1:14-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the third Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on January 21.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

So, Dan, if I can phrase it this way, what is the big idea of this particular passage?

Dan: A big idea here is, it gives a concrete example of commitment to the ministry of Jesus, to participating with Jesus in his ministry.

Now, this directly applies today to those who know they’ve received a calling to, whatever you want to call it, the ordained ministry, the professional ministry. But some believe they’ve really been called to that kind of ministry, and they have to think about it, and what that entails, and what that means about the future of their lives.

But it also applies to all of us, as we all participate in many ways in the ongoing ministry of Jesus. So, when Jesus calls us to do something, we need to respond because it’s our time. It’s as Mark would say, immediately. It’s our time to receive and respond to God’s call.

Ministry and discipleship may call for us to leave a job, leave property, even sadly, sometimes leave family if need be. And we have to consider our response.

We can either run away from our calling as Jonah did in the Old Testament, or we can respond as Peter, Andrew, James, and John did to Jesus’ call for us to participate with him in his ministry.

Anthony: Each time I read Mark’s Gospel account, I’m just struck by the speed and urgency of the storytelling. The word immediately, which you’ve already referred to, shows up numerous times in the book and in today’s text.

Even to the point where James and John leave their daddy in the boat, right? What’s behind the urgency of Mark’s telling of the Gospel story?

Dan: Over half the uses of the word immediately in the entire New Testament are found in the very short Gospel of Mark. Now, there are several theories as to why Mark uses the word immediately so many times.

For example, one is, Mark was young and impetuous. Two, he prefers action over teaching. And three, he was a lousy writer. His Greek is unimpressive with lots of problems in syntax and transitions. But to give Mark some credit, he’s actually a better writer than some would give him credit for being. His purpose is to identify Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.

He begins his short Gospel that way, and he ends it that way. Now, in between, his style produces a sense of urgency. He writes deliberately to that end. For Mark, the time has come. The kingdom of God has come near, and so he wants his readers to understand we need to get ready and respond now, immediately.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think Mark moves so fast in his Gospel account? (It can be shared that when Mark gets to the crucifixion he slows down and spends a lot of time on details.)
  • Why is the message that God’s kingdom is at hand a political statement? What implications does it have in a politically polarized world?
  • How would you explain what it means to “repent” and to “believe?” Did your understanding of these responses grow or change any from the sermon?
  • How does knowing Jesus sees us and calls us personally shape our response to him?
  • How did the differences between the two sets of brothers Jesus called speak to who Jesus is? What does this say about Jesus’ heart and character?
  • Are there things about us we may think would keep Jesus from calling us? What are they?
  • What other details in the passage stood out to you?

Sermon for January 28, 2024 – Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.

Program Transcript


Speaking of Life 3010 | Felt Not Seen
Heber Ticas

Work is a central part of our lives. I mean, we have to have an income to support ourselves and our families. We talk about “hard work,” and we’re suspicious of work that seems too easy. As human beings, the idea of work means putting forth effort, either mentally or physically, and having a tangible outcome. Some of the greatest works human beings have ever made are called “wonders of the world,” like the Taj Mahal in India or the pyramids in Egypt.

If we think about natural wonders in the world, those same people might say some of God’s greatest works are the Grand Canyon in the United States or Mount Everest in Nepal. Or perhaps the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or Victoria Falls in Africa. These are breathtaking natural wonders–clearly not made by man.

The manmade wonders I mentioned, like the Taj Mahal or the Egyptian pyramids, certainly are a visible outcome of hard work, but the effort of creating them came at the expense of human beings, usually slaves. God’s wonders and works, however, never exploit human beings and instead, show love and care for all beings. Further, his greatest works are felt in the heart and not seen.

One of the best places in the Bible to hear descriptions of God’s works is the book of Psalms. Let’s look at a few verses from Psalm 111:

Great are the works of the Lord; they are studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful…. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. Psalms 111: 2-4, 7 (NRSV)

If we look closely at the descriptions the psalmist gives for God’s works, we see qualities of God’s heart: honor, majesty, graciousness, mercy, faithfulness, and justice. Not only are God’s works beautiful and majestic, but they also reflect his goodness and his love. In other words, they reflect who God is by revealing his heart.

When we consider the beauty and majesty of the Grand Canyon or Mount Everest, we know they were created by a loving God who is devoted to showing his great love and compassion for all people, for all creation. The next time you visit or see a picture of one of God’s wonders, allow your heart to dwell on the love, compassion, and faithfulness that brought those wonders into being. This is the same Creator who made you and me, the same Creator who became human to draw us into a loving relationship. The greatest works of God are felt in the heart, not seen.

As you witness beauty in the world God created for us, I hope you experience his love and compassion.

Mi nombre es Heber Ticas, Hablando de Vida.

Psalm 111:1-10 • Deuteronomy 18:15-20 • 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 • Mark 1:21-28

This week’s theme is God’s love seeks expression. In our call to worship psalm, activities of God’s love are praised and recounted. The Old Testament text in Deuteronomy speaks of a prophet being raised from among the people which Christians later identify as Jesus. Paul writes to the Corinthian church to encourage a love that builds others up. The Gospel text in Mark highlights Jesus’ ministry of teaching and casting out demons.

The Love of Knowledge vs. the Knowledge of Love

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 ESV

There’s a Catholic priest, a Baptist preacher, and a Jewish rabbi.

These three got together at the local café to talk shop. And as you might imagine, they all went about their jobs very differently. One of them began bragging about how good he was at preaching and bringing people to conversion. Well, the other two took issue with that as they felt their way of doing ministry was superior. So, they decided to have a little competition. They decided that they would each go into the woods, find a bear, and use their best methods to convert it.

So, they all went into the woods, found a bear, and did their thing. After they each got out of the hospital, they met back up at the café to debrief and see who had the best results.

The Catholic priest was pretty scratched up and was still wearing some bandages from his encounter with the bear. He told his story first.

He recounted, “I went out and I found a bear that was good and angry and in need of God’s peace. Things between the bear and me got a little rough so I quickly grabbed some holy water and sprinkled it on the bear while saying three hail Mary’s. And I kid you not, that bear became just as calm as a little lamb. In fact, he will be coming out next week for confirmation and to take his first communion.

Then the Southern Baptist stood up to tell his story. He was in even worse shape than the Priest. Not only did he have scratches and bandages, but he had a cast on one arm and a patch over his left eye.

The preacher began to speak: “Well sonny, we don’t sprinkle nothing. I went out, found the meanest bear in the woods I could find and gave him the best fire and brimstone sermon I ever delivered. That bear was so convicted in his soul he rose up and attacked me. So, I grabbed him and just threw him in the creek and baptized him right then and there. And I kid you not, that bear rose out of the water just as calm as a little lamb. In fact, he signed up for membership class and will be joining us for our Sunday potluck.

Finally, it was the Jewish rabbi’s turn to tell his story. Only he was in terrible shape. He was in a full body cast, had an IV drip, and had to be rolled in on a hospital bed. In agony and pain, he tried to tell his story. He groaned, “You know, now that I think back on it. Circumcision probably wasn’t the best approach.”

That’s just a humorous way to make a simple point. We all have our ways of thinking and doing things that we think are best. And sometimes our way of thinking can get someone hurt.

Today we’re going to look at a section in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church where he is going to have to deal with some ingrained ways of thinking that could create some problems. Before we go into the text let’s get a little backstory of what is going on.

To begin with, 1 Corinthians is a letter written by Paul in response to oral reports and a letter written by the Corinthian church to Paul. In their letter to Paul, the Corinthian Church was challenging some of Paul’s prohibitions and teachings. They put together some logical arguments to justify their actions and Paul responds to each issue they are challenging. If you read through the entire letter of 1 Corinthians, you will notice Paul addressing each issue that the church put to him. He typically starts in on a new issue with saying “now concerning” such and such. Our text today begins with “Now concerning food offered to idols.” We do not have this particular issue today in our culture; however, the principal approach Paul takes on the issue does have application for us as well. We will get to that.

It may also be helpful to know that the city of Corinth was a thriving metropolis due to its strategic position for trade. Corinth grew quickly and attracted many people with different religious backgrounds. This gave rise to a city full of idol worship and rampant moral decay. Also, the Greeks prized their knowledge and debate skills. With this background, we can see the cultural influence on the church in Corinth as they were trying to use their knowledge to excuse their behavior. They were proud of their reasoning skills and were more concerned with their rights and freedoms than the consequences of their choices. Does this sound familiar to our day and time? We shouldn’t be surprised here in the west as we inherited much of Greek thought that the Corinthians are reasoning from. But Paul is not going to challenge their knowledge or logic. He often will agree with it. But he will contrast their knowledge with God’s knowledge. He starts his address of this issue by exposing their faulty premise of knowledge and he then grounds the discussion on the premise of love. We can see in this the need to ground all our thinking on the ground of who God is. God is love and any conclusions we reach that run contrary to this are faulty, no matter how logical or knowledgeable our position. Let’s look at how Paul begins addressing the issue of eating meat offered to idols:

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3 ESV)

Paul begins by leveling the playing field by agreeing with their own statement of “all of us possess knowledge.” Then he provides a deeper foundation than knowledge that we should consider in making our decisions—love. Paul also points out how knowledge can become a point of pride. Our knowledge can get us into a lot of trouble. Paul challenges how much “knowledge” these Corinthians really have. As we may often say, “the more we know, the more we come to know how little we know.” Paul is pointing out that to think we have all the answers and know how everything should work, only shows how little we know. That’s where knowledge with humility serves us well. Is it not a temptation for us when we learn something new, to use that knowledge as a point of pride, with complete disregard to others? This is where Paul is going. And he wants to shift our focus with his unexpected comment, “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” That’s an odd sentence structure is it not? In Greek the most important concept of a sentence is placed in the front.  Here, Paul is focusing the attention first on the love they had toward God and then noting God’s action toward them.

Paul is making a shift of what knowledge is really important. It’s not our knowledge that really counts, but God’s knowledge of us. He knows us best and therefore he should get the final word in all our choices. We have some pretty damaging choices made in the name of knowledge and freedom that do not take into account our triune God of love who knows us best. It’s a trust issue at its root. The Corinthians, and us, need to be reminded that God’s word to us is not to rob us of our freedom or our choices. He does not dehumanize us. On the contrary, he aims to make us into the humans he created us to be. He wants to truly set us free to live in the freedom of making the right choices that align to the reality of his love and good purposes for us. And we can trust he knows what he is talking about since he created us.

Paul has essentially grounded the argument on a whole new premise. He wants to reframe how they are thinking about the issue before addressing it. He is basically saying, “we are going to look at this from a different point of view. God’s point of view.” Now that he has established that premise he returns to the issue:

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)

Paul is now going forward with their argument by repeating what they said and even agreeing with it. Paul has no problem agreeing with the statement that there is only one God and therefore idols are empty of any real existence. Paul gives them a hearty “Amen!” But he goes further. He then speaks of this “one God” as a Father to whom all things, including ourselves, belong. He also adds that this “one God” includes Jesus Christ, who is Lord. Paul is bringing home a very important distinction about this “one God” that the Corinthians are using to justify their decisions. This God is a God who has revealed himself to us as a Father, and as a Father who has a Son who is Lord over all that exists. We are not in a position to exalt our knowledge or our freedom over the Creator God who is Lord over all. This God is a triune God of love and to run counter to this is to undo ourselves.

Now that Paul has established who God is, he will bring home the point that has been missing from the Corinthians “knowledge.” They have not been taking into account how their decisions will affect their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul begins by indicating something is missing with the transitional word, “However”:

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (1 Corinthians 8:7-13 ESV)

Paul brings the discussion to include others. Here he is making his overall point that he made back in chapter 6.

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV)

Just because you can do something doesn’t always mean you should. There were other believers in the Corinthian church who did not possess the same “knowledge” as some had. The Corinthian church also included Jews along with Gentiles so some of these Jewish brothers and sisters may have considered eating meat sacrificed to idols as an idolatrous activity, not to mention unkosher. The Gentile believers on the other hand had the problem of associating with their friends and neighbors, where avoiding eating this meat would have been difficult. So, there is much more to consider on the issue than just the knowledge of facts. There’s more going on than meets the eye, as it is so often with many of the issues we face today. Things are not always so black and white. It takes discernment, and that discernment must be sought from the triune God of love.

Paul’s argument here brings up what “freedom” really means when grounded in the truth of this God revealed as the loving relationship of Father, Son, Spirit. Their relationship has been coined as perichoresis which points to the mutual indwelling of Father, Son, Spirit. The word comes from the Greek peri, meaning “around,” and chorein, meaning “to give way” or “to make room.” Perichoresis could be understood as “rotation” or “going around.” We see in this perichoretic relationship that Father, Son, Spirit live equally and in a unified relationship. Their focus is never selfish or territorial. They fully make room in all that they do. God is truly free to be in loving relationship as Father, Son and Spirit. Like the Corinthian church our mindset also can be influenced by the culture around us. Here in the West, we tend to think contrary to this life of perichoretic relationship. We are tempted to think in terms of individualism and rights. We run the risk of losing freedom by defining it on the premise of individual rights. True freedom is being able to lay down your rights in loving response to relationship. Freedom truly finds its wings on the premise of the love that God in his infinite wisdom is sharing with us in his Son and through the Spirit.

Paul also makes a logical argument of his own. He points out to the Corinthians that if eating meat offered to idols is no big deal, then why make a fuss over it when it creates trouble for your brother? If it really is a small thing, then why not go without to embrace the big thing of loving your brother? And that is how Paul concludes. He states for himself that he would rather never eat meat if it is going to create harm for another. That is a choice that is truly set free by love.

True freedom is not expressed by being able to do whatever we want; true freedom is being able to go without what we want for the sake of another. This is the freedom we see in our Lord Jesus Christ who went to the cross for our sakes. If we call him Lord and want to enter into his freedom, we will want to think twice about our freedom on certain issues to discern how it may affect others. This doesn’t mean we should walk on eggshells to avoid any risk of offending everyone’s self-proclaimed sensibilities. That’s impossible and not at all what Paul is saying in this passage. Our decisions need to be based on the love we see in Jesus Christ and that is proclaimed in his word to us.

How free are you? How easy is it for you to forego some right or freedom for the sake of another? Jesus holds out to us his freedom and his love. And the Father’s ear is always turned to hear our prayers for wisdom in discerning what is best in any given situation. Considering Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians, today would be a good day to revisit any choices you are making in the name of “knowledge” or “freedom” that may be a hindrance to another. What might it look like to reframe the issue on the basis of God’s love to us as revealed in Jesus Christ?

Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W4

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January 28—Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 8:1-13, “Grace Areas”

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Program Transcript


Grace Areas w/ Dan Rogers W4

Anthony: Let’s immediately move to our final passage of the month. It’s 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, on January 28.

Dan, we’d be grateful if you’d read it for us, please.

Dan: I’d be happy to. Chapter 8, beginning in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes:

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge, but anyone who loves God is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge the weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against brothers and sisters and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never again eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Anthony: So, looking back through this pericope, the very first verse says that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Knowledge is generally revered, and certainly something we all seek. So, help us understand what Paul is really getting at with this statement, Dan.

Dan: Okay the Christians in the city of Corinth were blessed with many spiritual gifts. But sadly, this had gone to their heads and caused division in the congregation. Now, one of the gifts, evidently, was the gift of knowledge. The Greek word is gnosis. And it appears to have become a popular catch word for the Corinthians.

Now, at least some, evidently, had come to believe that their special knowledge gave them rights and freedoms to act and behave as they wanted. Paul points out that their knowledge really is only partial, and that the basis of Christian conduct is not knowledge but love, as Paul goes on to say in chapter 13 of first Corinthians. “If I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, but do not have love, I am nothing now.”

In other words, if you know that the monarchy of the Trinity is located in the being of God, not in the persons of God, and you understand the perichoresis, the homoousion, and the hypostatic union, and that there is no lacuna in the prolepsis of the eschaton, but that the eschatological Parousia is certain, but you judge and tell me that because I don’t understand that, that I’m a stupid disciple and not worthy of being called a Christian … you just might be a Corinthian! (Apologies there to Jeff Foxworthy.)

Anthony: As I’m looking at verse nine, Dan, thinking about just what you said. You could have all this knowledge, theological jargon, but if you abuse the liberties that you have and it becomes a stumbling block to others, that’s problematic to God. And I just want to ask you, is there any way that you can contextualize that in the modern day?

Maybe things that you see where we are taking liberty, that is actually becoming a stumbling block to others. Any words that you would say there?

Dan: Yeah, I would put it this way. If I were giving a sermon and after I had exegeted this pericope, I would probably come back and say something to the effect that, what do we learn from the apostle Paul in this passage?

Some Christians, perhaps relatively new to the faith, though intellectually they knew and understood the gospel, were still subjectively and by habit tied into their old ideas and ways. We can see this today. We see Christians, maybe even ourselves, we say, cross your fingers, or knock on wood, or here’s wishing you good luck. And now we know objectively that those things are superstitions, but it’s a part of our culture, and we still subjectively use those terms.

But so, how should we, as church leaders and senior members of a congregation, act and behave toward folks, especially those who are new? What kind of examples should be set? Paul would admonish the leaders and senior members to be careful. Now what about us? Are we conscious and aware of how our example as church leaders and senior members affect those who are new to our congregations?

What about our example? Now, not in matters of indifference, but in matters that might mislead and hurt new attendees. Might we even lead them into sin by our attitude and conduct?

On one level, what if we knew that some new attendees, because of their former religion or church, believed that it was a sin to eat pork? Would we invite them over to our house or have a fellowship meal at church that offered only pork? Would that be a good way to educate them and break them in?

But even more seriously, and right along the lines of what Paul is talking about in our passage, let me give this example—because what Paul is really talking about is eating meat sacrificed to idols, but eating it at the pagan temple.

Now we’ve got to remember that the pagan temples in those days were kind of their versions of what we might call a restaurant. In other words, if you wanted to get a good steak, where would you go? You’d go down to the local pagan temple because that’s where the animals were slaughtered and butchered and cooked and served as meals. And the community would go there, and they would eat and of course they would have the dancing girls, the prostitutes, the idols and all of that. But hey, it was a good meal.

So let me give this example. It’s something that came to mind while I was watching the TV show The Big Bang Theory. Now, in that show, there’s a character named Barry Kripke.

And Barry likes to invite new acquaintances and new colleagues to have dinner with him at a buffet that has excellent food and is very affordable. Now, the buffet is located in the local strip club. So, what if a church leader or senior church member invited a new attendee to a meal at a strip club? The leader or member could argue they only go there for the food, and they have the character not to look at anything else.

Some in Corinth are making much the same argument about going to a pagan temple for a meal. Now, would any of us do that to a new member? God forbid! We could very well be leading someone into sin, even an addiction, by our so-called freedom and our belief in our own character.

Let’s realize that God has called us to follow and imitate Christ. We’re to walk as he walked; we’re to follow Paul as he followed Christ. Others should be able to follow us as we follow Paul. And as we follow Christ, it’s not about us. It’s not about our freedom. It’s not about our knowledge. It’s about love and concern for others, and we need to realize the importance of setting a right example for other people, of being a light set on a stand, of being a city set on a hill for all to see.

So, what should we do? We should spiritually discipline ourselves and let our example shine. And be a light and a guide to others because that is love, and the greatest of all gifts is not knowledge. The greatest of all gifts is love. God has all knowledge, but God is love, and we are his children in communion with the Holy Spirit and in union with Christ.

So, what should we do? Let’s grow up to be like our Father and let us grow in love.

Anthony: Hallelujah and amen.

Pastors, I want to remind you that God could have chosen angels or any other thing he’s created to preach the gospel. But he chose the weak who can sympathize with the weak. He’s chosen you pastors, you preachers, you teachers. Thank you for your labor of love and Christ’s service.

Dan, I want to thank you for participating in the many ways that you have. Thank you for your insights here today. I have no doubt there are nuggets that our preachers are going to be able to take away from our discussion here today. So, thank you so very much for your labor of love.

And I want to thank three people who helped make this podcast possible. Reuel Enerio, David McKinnon, and Elizabeth Mullins. They’re a great team and I certainly could not do this without them.

As is our tradition here on Gospel Reverb, we like to end with prayer. And Mr. Rogers, if you would we’d be grateful for your prayer over our listening audience here today.

Dan: I’d be happy to, Anthony.

And let me, first of all, say thank you for the job you do on Gospel Reverb. In my opinion, for what it’s worth, I think you do a wonderful job here, and I really enjoy listening to all of your programs. And thank you for allowing me to be a part of them.

So, if you join me now in prayer.

Our great God and Father in heaven, we come to you through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit to praise and to worship you and to realize it is all about you.

And our preaching and our teaching and in everything we do, it’s about you, and it’s about love. Love God and love others, that fulfills everything you’ve asked of us as humans to do.

God, we need your help. We need your power. We need you in our lives. We need to participate with you through the Spirit to bring this about. But God, we trust in you and your faithfulness to do this for us.

Thank you for your word. Help us to rightly understand it, rightly preach it, rightly teach it, and rightly live by it. And let us interpret it all through the lens of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who is our epiphany, who is the one who reveals to us your way, your word, and your being. So, we give you thanks and praise, and ask your blessing, and give you great thanks in the name of our Savior, Jesus. Amen.


Small Group Discussion Questions

  • The sermon spoke of how the Corinthian church was being influenced by the culture in which it lived. How do you see the church today being influenced by the culture that surrounds it? What are some common negative influences?
  • Can you think of examples of where “knowledge” was used in a way that was hurtful to others?
  • Discuss what it means to be free. How does Jesus’ life give us a picture of what true freedom looks like? How does this freedom differ from how freedom is often portrayed?
  • Can you think of some examples where laying down your “rights” was the right thing to do?
  • Can you think of some actions you have taken or seen others take that were not morally wrong but still became a hindrance to others?