I grew up believing that it was the things that I didn’t do that made me right with God. Don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t skip church, don’t go to movies, don’t spend your money on selfish things, don’t neglect reading the Bible, don’t have friends that aren’t Christian, don’t get too close to the “world” and other even more extreme don’ts were the measure we were taught in order to claim the benefits of right standing with God.
Not true.
Looking back on those days, I believe the theology I was introduced to was based more on denial and self righteousness than in the life that Jesus actually came to offer.
In Luke, chapter 18, Jesus is talking with a young man who has been a very good boy growing up. He was now asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He doesn’t want to get this wrong. He tells Jesus that he has fulfilled the requirements of the Ten Commandments. He has done all the right things and not done any of the wrong things. I believe he was expecting Jesus to confirm his impeccable behavior as the only thing that he needed. Jesus’ reply is interesting. He says that there is still one more thing – he has to sell all that he has and come and follow Him. Leave all that you are counting on as measurements of goodness and right living and come and be in My presence. This was difficult for him to understand. All we know about the outcome is that he went away sorrowful because he had a lot of riches and a lot of good things going for him.
When God asked His people to be holy as He is holy in the Old Testament, and Jesus reiterates it in the New Testament, we have to realize that He is inviting us into his presence. It is not a call to clean up our act as if we could achieve it because it is a commandment. It doesn’t matter how good we’ve been or how religious we are. It doesn’t matter what we have not done or what we have done. Holiness cannot be achieved – it must be imparted. And we cannot be holy apart from the presence of God.
When God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3, He told Moses to take off his shoes for the place he stood on was holy ground. Now, that dirt wasn’t any different from the dirt that was on Moses’ left or right, but what was different was that God’s presence was there – that is what made that ground holy. It was still dirt but the manifest presence of God made it a holy place.
The same goes for us.
We’re created from the dust of the ground, we live this life and then when we die we go back to the ground (Ecclesiastes 3:20). We are just dirt, but in God’s presence, we become holy. It’s not because it is a cleaner dirt, or a more refined dirt, but because God’s presence is there in that dirt, or us, that makes us holy.
I know this makes us uncomfortable in some ways because we want to believe that there is something we have changed in order to become holy. There is. It’s intrinsic. The "outward behaviors" change as we "grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) In John 20:22, Jesus breathes on His disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That's intrinsic. And, John 7:37-38 “Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” That's outward.
The presence of God is a gift. It cannot be earned by what we do or don’t do but we do have the invitation!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
You Might Want to Follow Along in Your Bible
In the movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Professor Jones is trying to explain to a couple of government officials what the lost Ark of the Covenant is. He tells them what it looks like, what it was used for, what was in it, and the significance of finding it. They are listening, but are looking at him like a deer in the headlights. When he realizes they are not following his thinking he asks them, “Didn’t you guys ever go to Sunday School?”
The deeper insinuation here is that if you had gone to Sunday School you should have been taught how the history of the Old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament go hand in hand; what was said and done in the old one ties together everything that is said and done in the new one. The Old Testament is more than the history of the Hebrews – it is foundational as it shows how God wants to reveal Himself to us all. The New Testament shows us how we can live in relationship with this God who has been pursuing us since the beginning, now that He is among us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established.’” - Isaiah 46:9-10 NASB
Although, as Christians, we might look at the Old Testament as being for Jews and the New Testament for Christians, God has always been following the same plan. He states that He declares the end from the beginning and from the beginning things that haven’t happened yet. He has been on the same course since time began.
This also messes up some Christians into thinking that there are rules and laws to be followed that were written in the Old Testament that we should be following today. What we have here is a failure to recognize God’s plan, to connect the dots that tie the Old and New Testaments together.
God covenanted with Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, as individuals to bless them and their descendants so that He could use them to put His entire plan of redemption together for the whole world. By the time the descendants of Abraham came out of Egypt they were a small nation. God continued the covenant relationship He had begun with Abraham with this new nation. He would be their God and they would be His people and He would continue his plan of redeeming the world through this relationship.
He redeemed this tiny nation from the bondage of slavery and made them free and His own. But as fallen people they were unable to live up to their end of the covenant. So, God instituted the sacrificial offerings for sin and guilt and laid out the rules of the law for them to know what to do for living a good life.
When just the right time came (Galatians 4:4) God sent His Son into the lineage of Abraham. He was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23), was born subject to the law, and lived completely without sin (1 Peter 2:22). He offered Himself as the one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) to replace all the old sacrifices that could not help us become free from sin and guilt and bought our freedom (Hebrews 9:13-15, Galatians 4:5). He redeemed us from our bondage and slavery to the law, sin, and guilt and put us back into the right relationship with God that God has desired since the beginning (Galatians 2:16). This redemption from the law, sin, and guilt was illustrated in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Christ’s work while He was among us! (John 1:14)
What we as Christians need to remember is that the old law was made to remind us that we cannot get to God on our own…the sacrifices, blood and death were ceremonial illustrations of outward cleansing but could not cleanse our sins (Hebrews 10:4).
So, as Christians, we are free from the old law that only illustrated the redemption to come. Christ has adopted us and mediated for us a right relationship with His father in place of the old law. He is our sacrifice and law for living a good life with God. If we feel we have a need to practice certain holy days, or rituals and celebrations, or behaviors during times and seasons, we are missing the point of Jesus’ message and work of redemption, thus making the sacrifice of Christ powerless in our lives.
As Christians, we no longer have to keep reminding ourselves over and over of our inadequacies and inabilities in approaching God by following the law from long ago (Hebrews 4:14-16) and its ultimate purpose was to point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is our Redeemer setting us free from the sin and guilt that the old law was a constant reminder of. (Romans 6:1-14)
The deeper insinuation here is that if you had gone to Sunday School you should have been taught how the history of the Old Testament and the teachings of the New Testament go hand in hand; what was said and done in the old one ties together everything that is said and done in the new one. The Old Testament is more than the history of the Hebrews – it is foundational as it shows how God wants to reveal Himself to us all. The New Testament shows us how we can live in relationship with this God who has been pursuing us since the beginning, now that He is among us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established.’” - Isaiah 46:9-10 NASB
Although, as Christians, we might look at the Old Testament as being for Jews and the New Testament for Christians, God has always been following the same plan. He states that He declares the end from the beginning and from the beginning things that haven’t happened yet. He has been on the same course since time began.
This also messes up some Christians into thinking that there are rules and laws to be followed that were written in the Old Testament that we should be following today. What we have here is a failure to recognize God’s plan, to connect the dots that tie the Old and New Testaments together.
God covenanted with Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob, as individuals to bless them and their descendants so that He could use them to put His entire plan of redemption together for the whole world. By the time the descendants of Abraham came out of Egypt they were a small nation. God continued the covenant relationship He had begun with Abraham with this new nation. He would be their God and they would be His people and He would continue his plan of redeeming the world through this relationship.
He redeemed this tiny nation from the bondage of slavery and made them free and His own. But as fallen people they were unable to live up to their end of the covenant. So, God instituted the sacrificial offerings for sin and guilt and laid out the rules of the law for them to know what to do for living a good life.
When just the right time came (Galatians 4:4) God sent His Son into the lineage of Abraham. He was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23), was born subject to the law, and lived completely without sin (1 Peter 2:22). He offered Himself as the one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) to replace all the old sacrifices that could not help us become free from sin and guilt and bought our freedom (Hebrews 9:13-15, Galatians 4:5). He redeemed us from our bondage and slavery to the law, sin, and guilt and put us back into the right relationship with God that God has desired since the beginning (Galatians 2:16). This redemption from the law, sin, and guilt was illustrated in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Christ’s work while He was among us! (John 1:14)
What we as Christians need to remember is that the old law was made to remind us that we cannot get to God on our own…the sacrifices, blood and death were ceremonial illustrations of outward cleansing but could not cleanse our sins (Hebrews 10:4).
So, as Christians, we are free from the old law that only illustrated the redemption to come. Christ has adopted us and mediated for us a right relationship with His father in place of the old law. He is our sacrifice and law for living a good life with God. If we feel we have a need to practice certain holy days, or rituals and celebrations, or behaviors during times and seasons, we are missing the point of Jesus’ message and work of redemption, thus making the sacrifice of Christ powerless in our lives.
As Christians, we no longer have to keep reminding ourselves over and over of our inadequacies and inabilities in approaching God by following the law from long ago (Hebrews 4:14-16) and its ultimate purpose was to point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is our Redeemer setting us free from the sin and guilt that the old law was a constant reminder of. (Romans 6:1-14)
Monday, February 13, 2012
It's a Matter of the Heart
We looked at the Ten Commandments this week in our Cover to Cover series but not as a list of rules to live up to but a vow of commitment between God and His people. Like a marriage vow, this relationship was not one person’s demands over another but a mutual covenant of acceptance, commitment, and behavior agreed upon by both.
We have the benefit of having the accounts of both the Old and New Testaments to gain perspective from. We can see how the apostles were teaching that the law was good in that it pointed out our sin, but it was also bad because it couldn’t keep us from sinning. The point of the Ten Commandments was to put people in relationship with God – not create a religion. But it is sin within us that keeps us from doing the things the commandments require of us. So, God did for us what that law could not do for us.
Romans 8:3-4 “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Case in point: In Luke 18, a young ruler comes to Jesus and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds with, “You know the commandments…” and He lists them for him. The man replied in the affirmative and that he had obeyed them all since he was a child. Jesus replies, “There is still one thing you lack,” and this guy must have thought wow, now you’re changing the rules on me? “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” Well, when the man heard this he became sad because he was very rich.
This brings us to the tenth Commandment, Do not Covet. This is an inordinate desire for something that does not belong to you; greed actually.
This guy had been keeping all these commandments to the best of his known ability all of his life. On the outside it looked pretty good. I’m sure he gave to the poor; he took care of his parents. It sounds as though he had enough of his own things that he didn’t need to take anything from his neighbor. I would imagine he was influential as an up and coming ruler and his word was good in the community. He was familiar with Jesus being a teacher in the synagogues and was probably faithful in his attendance desiring a right relationship with God.
But what Jesus is addressing here is a matter of the heart – not behavior. You see, the very things Jesus is asking him to give up are the very things he is using to claim obedience to the Ten Commandments. He could afford to spend time in church and follow the Rabbi’s around. His affluence kept him from wanting anything his neighbor had. He had built a name for himself. He had influence. His word was good. He had a good upbringing knowing right from wrong.
This greed, or covet thing, is something that can affect the rest of what we do in obedience to God. To this guy it probably didn’t seem as though he was greedy with all that he might have been doing with what he had. But Jesus is asking him to stop attempting to live up to the Ten Commandments with what you have. Come away from your own life of failing to live them out with a sinful heart and follow Jesus, the One who came to provide the way away from the sin that controls our heart and behaviors.
This is the place where religion and relationship get separated. Jesus wants this guy, and all of us, to trust Him and follow Him and not rely on our own resources to do the things required in the commandments. Even though this guy was doing all the commandments, there was still one thing…it was a matter of the heart!
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40
We have the benefit of having the accounts of both the Old and New Testaments to gain perspective from. We can see how the apostles were teaching that the law was good in that it pointed out our sin, but it was also bad because it couldn’t keep us from sinning. The point of the Ten Commandments was to put people in relationship with God – not create a religion. But it is sin within us that keeps us from doing the things the commandments require of us. So, God did for us what that law could not do for us.
Romans 8:3-4 “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Case in point: In Luke 18, a young ruler comes to Jesus and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds with, “You know the commandments…” and He lists them for him. The man replied in the affirmative and that he had obeyed them all since he was a child. Jesus replies, “There is still one thing you lack,” and this guy must have thought wow, now you’re changing the rules on me? “Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” Well, when the man heard this he became sad because he was very rich.
This brings us to the tenth Commandment, Do not Covet. This is an inordinate desire for something that does not belong to you; greed actually.
This guy had been keeping all these commandments to the best of his known ability all of his life. On the outside it looked pretty good. I’m sure he gave to the poor; he took care of his parents. It sounds as though he had enough of his own things that he didn’t need to take anything from his neighbor. I would imagine he was influential as an up and coming ruler and his word was good in the community. He was familiar with Jesus being a teacher in the synagogues and was probably faithful in his attendance desiring a right relationship with God.
But what Jesus is addressing here is a matter of the heart – not behavior. You see, the very things Jesus is asking him to give up are the very things he is using to claim obedience to the Ten Commandments. He could afford to spend time in church and follow the Rabbi’s around. His affluence kept him from wanting anything his neighbor had. He had built a name for himself. He had influence. His word was good. He had a good upbringing knowing right from wrong.
This greed, or covet thing, is something that can affect the rest of what we do in obedience to God. To this guy it probably didn’t seem as though he was greedy with all that he might have been doing with what he had. But Jesus is asking him to stop attempting to live up to the Ten Commandments with what you have. Come away from your own life of failing to live them out with a sinful heart and follow Jesus, the One who came to provide the way away from the sin that controls our heart and behaviors.
This is the place where religion and relationship get separated. Jesus wants this guy, and all of us, to trust Him and follow Him and not rely on our own resources to do the things required in the commandments. Even though this guy was doing all the commandments, there was still one thing…it was a matter of the heart!
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40
Monday, February 6, 2012
Set it up - Take it down...Again
What do you get when you put a Wah-pedal guitar riff, a Fat Albert video, a sick and broken man who has been made whole again, a nation released from generations of slavery, a Passover lamb, communion, and a Josh Turner song together?
Answer: Church at Branches yesterday.
But that was just the subject matter and the presentation. There were also the conversations with families wanting to be baptized. There were conversations with the families that are dealing with aging parents. There were conversations about using para-like helpers in kid’s church and what that would look like. There were conversations about funding an upcoming conference for training. There were conversations about scheduling. All this before the service even started…and that was just me, not to mention everyone else who was busy building the environment for church that day!
There is so much more that goes into a morning of setting up a portable church than just renting the space with good intentions. I thought I would share a little about what a typical Sunday morning looks like from my perspective.
On Saturday evenings I start going into Sunday morning mode. I’m thinking through all the things we’ve been putting together all week. Is there anything I forgot? Is there anything I need to do out of the ordinary routine in the morning? What is the weather supposed to be like overnight? Will the person(s) responsible for clean sidewalks and parking have it all ready for us? Will anyone get sick who is on for the set-up crew or music or kids or hospitality? These are some of the things that we have to be prepared for on the fly. It affects what we put into the content and presentation of each and every service.
There is a saying that goes, “Never take anything on a boat that you’re not willing to lose.” The same philosophy goes into preparing each Sunday service in a portable church setting; never put anything into it that you are not willing to do yourself or could do without.
Adaptable and intentional; that’s the key.
That is why our leaders and volunteers are so important and valued! It takes a team to set up chairs to creatively handle the numbers we are at in the space we’ve got. There is a team for bringing in food and setting up hospitality table(s) for hanging out and fellowship during the pre-service time. The kid’s ministry has a crew for secure registration. They have to set up with sound and video in rooms for big kids, little kids, nursery kids. We need the sound and video set up each week in the main area too. We bring this stuff with us every week in boxes. We have guest information to be set out and greeters to welcome each person into this new church space we create out of a school. We need communion set up and distribution and ushers to help with seating and information.
As all this is going on though, people are connecting with each other. It’s actually quite rewarding to jump in and be a part of these teams. Solomon observed that it was a good and pleasant thing to watch when people work together in unity. The little bit that each person does is adding to the whole of Branches Church being real. People who visit Branches often use the word "real" to describe what they have experienced. It’s affirming to know that as a church we are on the original track of what our vision and mission are.
Our goal is to be a safe place where people can share their life journey. A place where being real doesn’t scare anyone away or bring in the “Bible police” mentality in order to fix everyone or unify their behaviors under a common theology of a narrowly defined right and wrong. A place where the Bible can be explained in everyday context and everyday application. A place where we all can grow in our faith by learning what it is that God has been up to since the beginning. A place where Jesus is taught. A place where grace is taught. A place where acceptance isn’t just a religious word but an act. A place where real people can share their real life in a gathering of real people who know the real Jesus and let Him work in all of us.
So, next Saturday we'll start thinking about all we have to do, we'll show up and set it up, we'll encourage each other, strengthen our faith, apply God's Word, share our stories, and take it all down again.
Pastor Mike
Answer: Church at Branches yesterday.
But that was just the subject matter and the presentation. There were also the conversations with families wanting to be baptized. There were conversations with the families that are dealing with aging parents. There were conversations about using para-like helpers in kid’s church and what that would look like. There were conversations about funding an upcoming conference for training. There were conversations about scheduling. All this before the service even started…and that was just me, not to mention everyone else who was busy building the environment for church that day!
There is so much more that goes into a morning of setting up a portable church than just renting the space with good intentions. I thought I would share a little about what a typical Sunday morning looks like from my perspective.
On Saturday evenings I start going into Sunday morning mode. I’m thinking through all the things we’ve been putting together all week. Is there anything I forgot? Is there anything I need to do out of the ordinary routine in the morning? What is the weather supposed to be like overnight? Will the person(s) responsible for clean sidewalks and parking have it all ready for us? Will anyone get sick who is on for the set-up crew or music or kids or hospitality? These are some of the things that we have to be prepared for on the fly. It affects what we put into the content and presentation of each and every service.
There is a saying that goes, “Never take anything on a boat that you’re not willing to lose.” The same philosophy goes into preparing each Sunday service in a portable church setting; never put anything into it that you are not willing to do yourself or could do without.
Adaptable and intentional; that’s the key.
That is why our leaders and volunteers are so important and valued! It takes a team to set up chairs to creatively handle the numbers we are at in the space we’ve got. There is a team for bringing in food and setting up hospitality table(s) for hanging out and fellowship during the pre-service time. The kid’s ministry has a crew for secure registration. They have to set up with sound and video in rooms for big kids, little kids, nursery kids. We need the sound and video set up each week in the main area too. We bring this stuff with us every week in boxes. We have guest information to be set out and greeters to welcome each person into this new church space we create out of a school. We need communion set up and distribution and ushers to help with seating and information.
As all this is going on though, people are connecting with each other. It’s actually quite rewarding to jump in and be a part of these teams. Solomon observed that it was a good and pleasant thing to watch when people work together in unity. The little bit that each person does is adding to the whole of Branches Church being real. People who visit Branches often use the word "real" to describe what they have experienced. It’s affirming to know that as a church we are on the original track of what our vision and mission are.
Our goal is to be a safe place where people can share their life journey. A place where being real doesn’t scare anyone away or bring in the “Bible police” mentality in order to fix everyone or unify their behaviors under a common theology of a narrowly defined right and wrong. A place where the Bible can be explained in everyday context and everyday application. A place where we all can grow in our faith by learning what it is that God has been up to since the beginning. A place where Jesus is taught. A place where grace is taught. A place where acceptance isn’t just a religious word but an act. A place where real people can share their real life in a gathering of real people who know the real Jesus and let Him work in all of us.
So, next Saturday we'll start thinking about all we have to do, we'll show up and set it up, we'll encourage each other, strengthen our faith, apply God's Word, share our stories, and take it all down again.
Pastor Mike
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