iCrucified

Posts Tagged ‘Gospel’

Installment #4 was my assignment for this weekend’s worship services. My title for this message was “Rules of the Road: God’s Way of Loving Ourselves and Loving Others.” As is my custom, I have included the manuscript, sermon outline, and small group discussion questions along with the audio file. I am always interested in constructive critique and feedback.

download manuscript (.pdf file)

download outline and sm.grp. discussion (.pdf file)

2010JAN24 ChristianJourney 4jb by valleychapel

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Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Hmmm…what to say, what to say…

LOVED IT.

A book like this requires some degree of back-story, and it was provided, so it was a little long for me to get to the nitty gritty of what I was searching for in the story. It was around chapters nine and ten that I found myself getting “sucked in” to the heart of what Hugh Halter was driving at. I am incredibly excited about the community described in the tangible kingdom. It brings great joy to me to hear that people are living the life that Jesus taught…and not some cheaply interpreted facsimile of it.

Chapters ten through around fourteen were mostly about deconstruction from the “way we have always done things.” I appreciated that Halter was not overly critical toward the methods he was deconstructing; in fact, he seemed very sensitive to the people entrenched in those systems.

Chapters fifteen through eighteen were rebuilding chapters; teaching the foundational elements of this “incarnational community.” Everything that was shared in these chapters just seemed to make such beautiful sense… I found myself saying over and over; “yes, yes, yes, yes…!!!”

The final chapters, nineteen through twenty-one, were about the focus and outcome of the three primary components of the community once people decide to “join” the community. This focus hinges on togetherness, oneness, and otherness…and I’ll stop there. The teaching and the illustrations used by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are very clear and easy to understand. It would be my great desire to see this community with my own eyes. I would love to get some one-on-one leadership development from an existing-healthy-functioning community.

In my opinion, this is another 5-star book and another must read for those people and leaders desiring to live missionally and incarnationally (buzzwordsy I know, but I don’t know how else to describe it). Personally, I don’t know that I’d follow everything from this book… I have some personal convictions that differ from the authors, but I understand the heart of his passion and with that I agree 100%. I recommend this book very highly. I’m glad to kickoff my 2010 reading year with this one; a great way to start it out.

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As I spend time in Scripture reading and prayerful meditation this morning, I am moved to pray for Haiti this passage from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah (chapter 62). God has promised healing and blessing to the nations from Abraham through Messiah Jesus. May it be so for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as the world watches. Spirit of the Most High God, help us to be revealing Light to the world for the glory of Your Name and Kingdom. Amen.

¹ Because I love Zion (Haiti),
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem (Haiti),
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
² The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
³ The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
⁴ Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem (Haiti),
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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Yesterday was my rotation for leading the congregation in hearing the Word of God. I felt strongly inclined to “do something different.” Something in my deepest self feels a sense of remorse over the lack of attentive reverence given to Scripture. I’m not an advocate of Bibliolatry…pushing for the worship of God’s Word; however, it seems to me that since the Holy Scriptures are a primary means that God speaks to humanity, we should give more attention to it…reverence, awe, and worship for the Giver of the Word. It is for this reason that I do not care of the typical (at least what I am used to) contemporary worship service…if you can call it that. It seems almost sacrilegious to call it “worship.” Sorry…it’s a pet peeve, but I take it as an affront to Christ for people professing to “love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength” to give Him such little attention. Here’s an example; the typical modern service lasts approximately 1 – 1.5 hours in length. This service will generally consist of a welcome, announcements, a few hymns/choruses, and a brief reading of the Word and sermon. The sermon, most often, is more of a devotional thought (at least in the contemporary setting) with a few “relevant” points and a “what I’m supposed to do with this” to do list for good Christian boys and girls. I know I’m sounding cynical…but we’re talking about the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE here! I hear of people sitting down and watching an entire DVD series of a TV show at one time, playing console games for hours straight, and/or waiting in traffic jams and long lines for a sporting event and then sitting through inclement weather for hours to watch said event. Conversely, we are told repeatedly that people don’t have the attention spans to sit through much more than a 25 minute sermonette in a worship service. Baloney; people will sit through what they want to sit through provided they find there is value in it. Personally, I cannot find anything of more value than hearing the words of my God…He is indeed, the Pearl of great price.

Enough of my rant…

So, yesterday I read a letter, a letter to the church. This letter was compiled by me from eleven of the church letters and epistles comprising the New Testament Scriptures. There were thirty-four passages of Scripture taken from the letters each annotated and foot-noted in my manuscript. I believe the letter is contextually true and is as relevant for us today as it was when it was originally written/read.

I shared with the congregation that the ancient church would often go months or longer before they might hear from one of the apostles and when they did it would be with great excitement they would gather to hear the reading of the letter. This is the letter I read to my church family yesterday. A copy of the letter (here) and small group discussion points (here) are included  for download.

My thinking for this letter was to simply let the Word of God do what it does; teach, inspire, challenge, rebuke, correct, and convict. I assumed that God did not need me to tell the people what to think on this occasion. I know this is a lot of information in one letter, but I am under the conviction that people would walk away hearing only what God the Holy Spirit wanted them to hear. Time will tell; feedback from this Sunday was rather sparse…dunno what to make of that, but I feel I was true to what the Spirit laid on my heart. Amen.

2009NOV29 DearChurch jborden by icrucified

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I begin with part one of my Reveille series although it might serve more as an extended introduction; I’m calling it part one anyway. Please feel free to share comments in the comments section of this post or you can send them to me through email. I am interested in any thoughts, comments, and discussion.

“Lord, make me see thy glory in every place.”
— Michelangelo

“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish.”
— Michelangelo

I continue to sense a discontent in my spirit. I am not downcast, I am not discouraged, but I am not satisfied. I read the pages of God’s Word and see people invited into something miraculous and divine and I want it. I sense the Spirit of God alive in me; hungering for community with similarly awakened souls. I feel the unction and commission of God to spread this Good News; that God has invited us to share His Spirit…He desires to dwell within us, and give us resurrected life in the present and in the now. I speak these words to people today and hear them affirm the words, but discern doubt in their heart. While this may sound judgmental, I am inclined to examine the fruit…and where there is none or there is little, I question the veracity of the root system and the soil of that individual’s life.

I am determined to live the life taught in the gospels. I am determined to build upon the foundations and teaching of the apostle-disciples and I will not be quieted. A curious phenomenon has emerged during this season of my life; when I talk or share my thoughts about this brooding of my spirit, the most common response from others is to encourage me or try to “fix” me. The problem is I don’t see myself as the one needing “fixed” or “encouraged.” You see, I know it is God, The Holy Spirit, who has “broken” me and I don’t want this brokenness to be fixed. God has placed a hunger for Himself in my soul and nothing less than overflowing portions of HIM satisfies. For this reason, I am mystified when I encounter others who profess love for and relationship with Jesus, but seek their satisfaction from worldly endeavors. I don’t get it.

I know the call to follow Christ is one that demands everything. I know that once we have given our life to Christ, we are given to the mission of Christ. Therefore, any agenda other than the mission of God is anti-Christ (see Matthew 12:30).

I am just ending a 60-day meditation in the Gospel of Matthew. Some things I take away from it are (1) the incredible life that Jesus offers to us; both on this earth and in this physical life and the immortal-eternal life spent (physically) with Him in the new heaven and new earth, and (2) the incredibly narrow path and high bar that life calls us to be accountable to until Christ returns or our physical life ends.

Highlighting the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus begins to teach the precepts of His Kingdom; for living now and tomorrow-eternal. I believe, in my own words, the Beatitudes, which depict true followers of Christ, can be summarized as follows:

1. True disciples are dependent upon God
2. True disciples are discontent with the sin nature
3. True disciples are confident in their Christian position
4. True disciples  desire to reconcile and restore God’s Kingdom
5. True disciples are compassionate, patient, forgiving, and merciful
6. True disciples are innocent and childlike in their purity of heart, not cynical, skeptical, doubting, flippant, and/or selfish
7. True disciples are “reconcilers” (and this should not be confused with compromiser)
8. True disciples willingly release their rights and/or lives for the sake of and salvation of others

Indeed, Jesus raises the bar for those who answer the call to “follow him.” Jesus makes it very clear (Matthew 5:13-16) that our Christian faith and our ability to reflect the image of God (Imago Dei) is a non-negotiable. Jesus says we will truly reflect His glory, or we will be “thrown out.” He says our acts of mercy, justice, healing, and righteousness should illuminate our world (community). He goes on to make clear (Matthew 5:17-20) that we “do not misunderstand why he has come…” Jesus says; “Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Ouch. If these words do not convey accurately his intent; I find these closing words difficult to argue with; “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

I have been reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians and from the prophet Jeremiah this morning. The following passages captured my attention:

Colossians chapter one –

• vs 1: “…chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.”
• vs 6: “This good news is bearing fruit everywhere changing lives…”
• vs 9-10: “…God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.”
• vs 25: “God has given me the responsibility of serving His church by proclaiming His entire message to you…”
• vs 27: “The message; CHRIST LIVES IN YOU!”
• vs 28: “…so we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect (mature) in their relationship to Christ.”
• vs 29: “That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”

Jeremiah chapter one –

• vs 7: “You must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you…”
• vs 9-10: “Look I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”
• vs 17: “…Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.

I do not know what this next season is on the horizon and I’m not sure when it will fully break into the “now,” but I am very aware that God has been stirring me for a long time and the next season will bring change. I vow faithfulness to Jesus, my Savior, my God. I know, in my heart, I trust Him implicitly.

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
— Michelangelo

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Why…?

Why is probably not the best question, at least not in the context that it is asked (I mean) that I ask it. I continue to be burdened repeatedly with my attentions drawn to a singular message in God’s Word. I respond to this “word” with affirmation; I believe… and I consider myself to have received said message with joy and understanding. It is with this understanding that I ask God “why;” why do You keep bringing me to these scripture lessons, why do You keep highlighting, underscoring, and bolding this message to me if I agree with it and believe it to be true? While I don’t want to make egotistical parallels to my own life, I can identify with the sentiment that this “…word burns in my heart like a fire; it’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” What is the message; this word?

The Way is narrow; this Jesus Way. The day is urgent and our time is running out…our lives are but a vapor and the call to become a true disciple of Christ continues to be marginalized, if not completely ignored. When I talk like this to my community, I am scorned. I’m asked to define the rules and parameters for this narrow way of discipleship. These questions make me realize the urgency of the message even more. The Way isn’t about rules. The Way is about foremost; putting God first in every nook and cranny of our life. Secondly, the Way is about love, AGAPE love…the Way is about community…defined by agape relationships. Jesus defined it by saying the most important commandment of the law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Then you must love your neighbor as yourself.” Our failure is to fully trust God at His Word. Most of us refuse to believe (this is a generalization, I know…) we can love in, and with, the capacity that God (Jesus) has called us to love. There is no wonder then, why we also don’t believe that we can truly live in Christian community with one another this side of eternity…since we cannot live in-with the definition of God’s love.  I not only believe we can, I know we can. A God… OUR GOD tells us that He has given us everything we need to live a godly life…to the point that we even share in His divine nature…His Holy Spirit indwelling and empowering us for walking the Jesus Way. But…we still refuse to believe.

I believe.

I am convinced or crazy, or both…that unless we enter into the path of agape appropriation (which entails believing that we can live today as agape-kingdom citizens), our eternal life may be in jeopardy. I am convinced that unless we strive (with agape-kingdom attitudes) for relational community with one another our eternal life may be in jeopardy. I am convinced that unless we enter into covenant agreement with the mandate to be missional-ambassadors in the ministry of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration… our eternal life may be in jeopardy. I have never felt more urgent and convinced of anything such as this in my entire life. It consumes me. I am overwhelmed with this Word. God invites us; everyone is welcome to participate and He does not desire anyone to be left out, but those who do not join in are (by their own volition) cutting themselves off from relationship with the Most High God. This terrifies me…for my family, for my friends, for a flock that God has entrusted to my care and oversight, and for legions of souls following the pied-piper of deceit, Lucifer.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not pronouncing judgment or condemnation upon anyone and I’m not saying I have everything related to this Jesus Way figured out or mastered. I echo the words of the apostle Paul who writes; “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

What saddens me on top of these other concerns and fears is that not many wish to hear it. It is not a popular message and about the time I feel overwhelmed, the Lord speaks to me through one of many vehicles. This morning I was ministered to by the words of Origen, John Chrysostom, Ambrosiaster, and the prophet Isaiah; their words follow:

Origen: I think that any love without God is artificial and not genuine. For God, the Creator of the soul, filled it with the feeling of love, along with the other virtues, so that if might love God and the things which God wants. But if the soul loves something other than God and what God wants, this love is said to be artificial and invented. And if someone loves his neighbor but does not warn him when he sees him going astray or correct him, such is only a pretense of love.

Chrysostom: If you have love, you will not notice the loss of your money, the labor of your body, the toil of your words, your trouble or your ministering, but you will bear everything courageously.

Ambrosiaster: To be haughty is pride, which is how the devil fell… Solomon says that “God resists the proud.” Put pride aside and make other people’s cares your own so that you might be acceptable to God.

Isaiah 30:8-11 Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the LORD’s instructions.  They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies.  Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’”

…maybe I am crazy. Maybe I am overconfident in what I believe is true. I’m so convinced those are not the case, that I am not willing to take the chance otherwise. I shall press on.

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Wrapping it up: 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed [Days 36-40]

LtJC – Days 36-40:

The way of Agape is not easy. More often than not, it is love that is dispensed and manifest in the faces of the unloved, in the lives of the broken, and in the hearts of the hateful…when those who are the loving are persecuted, despised, maligned and martyred. The way of Agape is selfless, sacrificial, and serving…the way of Agape is the highest calling of all. The way of Agape begins with loving God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. The way of Agape ends with loving our neighbor as ourselves. Anything in between those two points is a distraction…

The final 5 days (leading up to Palm Sunday) were focused on living examples of Jesus Creed love (days 36-40). The first example given (mentioned in my previous entry) is support. Support is evidenced in many ways not the least of which is our finances. It can be seen in other ways as well; for instance, the sharing of material resources, time, and serving with our gifts and abilities. The bottom line is love for Jesus supports his teaching and his kingdom. Read the rest of this entry »

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Weekly Meds – Week of Feb 16^th, 2009

Prayer for the week:

O Lord our God, teach us, we ask you, to ask you aright for the right blessings. Steer the vessel of our life toward Yourself, You tranquil haven of all storm-tossed souls. Show us the course wherein we should go. Renew a willing spirit within us. Let Your spirit curb our wayward senses, and guide and enable us unto that which is our true good, to keep Your laws, and in all our works evermore to rejoice in Your glorious and gladdening presence. For Your is the glory and praise from all Your saints for ever and ever. Amen. (Basil the Great)

From Deep-Rooted in Christ, the theme for this week’s meditation is “Minding the Inner Life.”

Pastor Kang writes; “The powerful presence of the Holy Spirit should bring dramatic changes to our inner world. Spiritual formation isn’t a matter of outward change; it originates in our inner world. To grasp this we must understand the essence of learning. The word educate has a root meaning: ‘to lead out from within.’ Spiritual education isn’t about packing knowledge or information into our hearts. It’s about letting God transform us from the inside out. What a precious treasure we Christians have received! The Holy Spirit dwells in us so that our inner worlds may be transformed…”

“God looks beyond our human appearances; he sees through the disguises we put on. The Lord searches deep within our hearts and sees us as we really are… Jesus condemned the Pharisees as white-washed tombs; they seemed godly on the outside, but they lacked authentic righteousness on the inside. We too may walk around with a big Bible in each hand, but that doesn’t prove we are godly. Pay attention to what is really welling up in your inner world.”

I agree with Pastor Kang when he says, Read the rest of this entry »

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“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

Where do we place our trust? How do we lay the foundation for our beliefs and on what (or who) do we lay that foundation? Jesus professed himself as the “light of the world.” Subsequent teaching instructs us that we are invited to receive the Spirit of Christ to dwell within us. Consequently, the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:14 rings true… Jesus Christ is the light of the world and as we receive Him to “live” in us, we too become the “lights of the world.” I ask myself again, how diligent am I to build upon this foundation? Is Christ my cornerstone? Have I forsaken all things, so I might put Him first in everything? Do I have any other agenda other than the purpose of God’s Kingdom? What is my view of the world and do I really see it through the eyes of my God?

^NLT John 8:12 ¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

^ESV Matthew 5:14 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

^NLT John 9:5 ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

^ESV 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

“God gave us a mind in order that we might learn and receive help from him, not in order that the mind should be self-sufficient. Eyes are beautiful and useful, but if they choose to see without light, their beauty is useless and may even be harmful. Likewise, if my soul chooses to see without the Spirit, it becomes a danger to itself.” Homilies of Paul to the Corinthians 7.9. Chrysostom

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I found this conversation between J Piper, T Keller, and D Carson that was shared by DJ Chuang on his site. I wanted to come back to it to watch it in its entirety so am putting it on my blog for easy reference. Feel free to check out the discussion…It has been embedded in playlist form.

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