So yesterday I had some of the most fun teaching I've had in a while! For the past week I haven't been able to shake two things from the passage in Acts we looked at:
One, is that ministry, real, normal Christian ministry is ministry of tears and trials. It is not ministry that's easy, clean, or neat. It is ministry that requires much of those who chose to enter into it, because it means entering into the lives of those around you.
The second thing is the image of Paul and the Ephesian elders kneeling on the beach, with the ship just over shoulder, ready to take Paul to Jerusalem. I've wondered all week what the Singles Ministry at OMPC would look like, how it might be different if we viewed our lives as racing the clock. If we kept the perspective that there is a ship just off-shore, waiting to take us to the next port (marriage, a different city).
It's hard for me to look at our group and say, "Well, here are the things we're doing that are 'wastes of time.'" That just seems to me to be a pretty cynical and unmotivating way to encourage ministry. What I can see clearly, though, is a picture of what it would look like if we really lived with these two mindsets at the forefront of everything we did. It's a pretty amazing and terrifying picture, and I pray that I get the chance to be around to see it happen.
Boy! What a view!
Showing posts with label Sunday School Leftovers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday School Leftovers. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday School Leftovers
Okay, so Chad did an amazing job teaching Sunday School yesterday, and again, I'm learning so much about evangelism through this series on Acts. Things I've thought about for years, in ways I've never thought about them. One thing he said, in particular that stuck out to me yesterday, when he was talking about the transformation in his thinking about evangelism that's occurred as he's shaken off his performance mentality about the Christian life, "I care more about the person than converting them." Interesting, thoutht-provoking, very dangerous if taken out-of-context and looked at in immature ways. I love it.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Christ-centered Evangelism. . . What?!
Acts chapter two is a partial record of Peter's brilliant sermon to the devout Jews that were in Jerusalem at the time when the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:5). There's a lot that can and has been said about this sermon, and many lessons in evangelism that can be taken from it, but one that has continued to stand out to me is the Christ-centeredness of what Peter says. Peter's sermon is all about Christ. He shows his audience how the prophescies about the coming Messiah (2:16-21, 25-30) were fulfilled in the man of Jesus Christ (2:22-24, 31-33). He paints a picture of Jesus of Nazareth that is big, that is compelling, that is God-sized, namely because Jesus of Nazareth was in fact, God.
Now, here's the thing that I find so interesting as I've thought about the differences between Peter's sermon and how evangelism tends to be done in today's context. See, we tend to focus most of our time on convincing the person we're talking to that they are a sinner who needs saving. We tend to try and paint a picture of God who is perfect and man who is sinful and show them that this is a bad problem that must be resolved. And, while I don't think that this is at all a bad way to do evangelism, it does seem to me to be pretty man-centered. It's all about showing the person's problem, the person's need, and sometimes I wonder if this leaves much room to do what Peter did, paint a really big picture of who Christ is and what he did on earth.
At the end of his sermon, Luke writes that "when they heard this they were cut to the heart" (2:37). It's as if you can almost hear what they were thinking, "What have we done?! We have rejected the Messiah!" The truth about Christ, seeing who he really was, cut them to the heart as they realized their own fault, and it led them to repentance. Could it be that if we spent our time showing and talking about Christ in these kinds of ways to the lost around us, they too might realize that they have rejected the Messiah and ask, "What do we need to do?"
Now, here's the thing that I find so interesting as I've thought about the differences between Peter's sermon and how evangelism tends to be done in today's context. See, we tend to focus most of our time on convincing the person we're talking to that they are a sinner who needs saving. We tend to try and paint a picture of God who is perfect and man who is sinful and show them that this is a bad problem that must be resolved. And, while I don't think that this is at all a bad way to do evangelism, it does seem to me to be pretty man-centered. It's all about showing the person's problem, the person's need, and sometimes I wonder if this leaves much room to do what Peter did, paint a really big picture of who Christ is and what he did on earth.
At the end of his sermon, Luke writes that "when they heard this they were cut to the heart" (2:37). It's as if you can almost hear what they were thinking, "What have we done?! We have rejected the Messiah!" The truth about Christ, seeing who he really was, cut them to the heart as they realized their own fault, and it led them to repentance. Could it be that if we spent our time showing and talking about Christ in these kinds of ways to the lost around us, they too might realize that they have rejected the Messiah and ask, "What do we need to do?"
Friday, January 9, 2009
"Simple" Truths
In Sunday School, we're doing a sprint through the book of Acts during January and February, specifically focusing on the nuances of how the early church did evangelism. This is the second time I've really "studied" the book, and I'm amazed once again at this book, specifically how the first eleven verses of the book are so integral to everything that happens. Those forty days that Christ spent with his disciples in between his resurrection and ascension become so crucial to everything they do after the Holy Spirit comes.
For example, in 1:3 Luke writes, "To them [the disciples] he [Christ] presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." In other words, Christ spent a significant amount of time making sure his disciples knew that he was the real deal, he really was the Messiah that had been promised for so long. This is what he taught them.
Then, you flip over to chapter 2, and read verses 14-36 (Peter's sermon to the crowd), and you realize that what he's doing for the crowd is the same thing Christ did for the disciples, showing that the Jesus who was crucified is the Messiah, the real deal.
Here's the thing: I've been through a lot of different "evangelism training" courses, but I don't ever remember one that talked about presenting Christ as true, as the risen Messiah. In the midst of all the different tactics that are sometimes used to share Christ with those around us, I wonder if we've lost the profound wonder of talking about the risen Christ and showing non-Christians how the biblical promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled in this carpenter from Nazareth.
For example, in 1:3 Luke writes, "To them [the disciples] he [Christ] presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." In other words, Christ spent a significant amount of time making sure his disciples knew that he was the real deal, he really was the Messiah that had been promised for so long. This is what he taught them.
Then, you flip over to chapter 2, and read verses 14-36 (Peter's sermon to the crowd), and you realize that what he's doing for the crowd is the same thing Christ did for the disciples, showing that the Jesus who was crucified is the Messiah, the real deal.
Here's the thing: I've been through a lot of different "evangelism training" courses, but I don't ever remember one that talked about presenting Christ as true, as the risen Messiah. In the midst of all the different tactics that are sometimes used to share Christ with those around us, I wonder if we've lost the profound wonder of talking about the risen Christ and showing non-Christians how the biblical promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled in this carpenter from Nazareth.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday School Leftovers: Sometimes Sovereignty Sucks
Yesterday, we started off the lesson watching one of my favorite Christmas shows of all time: "A Charlie Brown Christmas." There's so much we could say about that scene with Linus and Charlie Brown on the wall. I said that we all need to have a Linus in our lives to listen to us and then speak truth, just like he did for Charlie Brown, but the thing I didn't have time to mention was the aspect of Linus' character that is so obvious. Go back and watch the scene, and notice what our little theologian, our little truth-speaker is doing the whole time he's listening the Charlie Brown: he's sucking his thumb and clinging to his blanket. It's such a great scene, because it once again reminds me that we are all broken. Everyone of us has our blankets and our thumbs that we cling to at times instead of Christ, and yet just like Linus, we must not let our own sins and our own weaknesses prevent us from encouraging and speaking truth to those around us who are struggling.
What our brothers and sisters in Christ need to see. What those outside the body of Christ need to see, are Christians who listen, who speak truth, who encourage, while it being very obvious that we don't have it all together and figured out.
What our brothers and sisters in Christ need to see. What those outside the body of Christ need to see, are Christians who listen, who speak truth, who encourage, while it being very obvious that we don't have it all together and figured out.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Relationships Within the Body, Part Two: Leftovers
In Sunday School yesterday morning, we looked at how to deal with friends that are struggling with sin, knowing when to confront them, what sins to confront, and how to do it. While I always enjoy the prep. and actually getting up in front of people to teach, there are some lessons that I enjoy giving more than others. This was one of those lessons. I just felt like I was learning a ton of new stuff and looking at accountability and confrontation from a totally different angle than I ever had before. As I said in the into. yesterday morning, rules and black-and-white standards of which sins to confront and how to do it are great, but they rarely work outside of a theological, academic context. When we're in community with others who are struggling with sin, it's rarely, nice, neat, and black-and-white.
I think the example of Great Pyrenees is probably the most helpful, so I'm posting that as the main leftover from the lesson:
"As most of you know, my roommate has a dog named Radley, who's part Great Pyrenees. I've been reading about Great Pyrenees, trying understand the breed better, and there's one thing very interesting about them, that I think applies to what we've been talking about this morning. Great Pyrenees are guard dogs, mostly used to guard animals in the mountains and hills. The interesting thing about them, though, is that as guard dogs they can appear to be very laid back, not really paying attention to what's going on. Looks can be deceiving though, because even though they seem like they're just laying around, they are very aware of their surroundings and always looking out for potential danger. The minute they see or sense something, they don't bark--being that the herds they're protecting can at times be very close to cliffs, barking and scaring them can be dangerous--instead they get in between what they're guarding and the perceived danger, and they nudge what they're protecting away from the danger. Isn't that such a great picture of what Christian community should look like?! What a wonderful, merciful God to give us such a great example in his creation of what we should be doing for one another!
Accountability doesn't mean we're always looking for the worst in people's lives. Much like the Great Pyrenees, we're just supposed to be around those that we're called into community with, not pacing, nervous, looking for sin, but always aware, no matter what we're doing, of potential dangers. And when we see them, the idea is not to bark and get all bothered, but to get in between the person and the perceived danger and nudge them away from it, back to safety."
I think the example of Great Pyrenees is probably the most helpful, so I'm posting that as the main leftover from the lesson:
"As most of you know, my roommate has a dog named Radley, who's part Great Pyrenees. I've been reading about Great Pyrenees, trying understand the breed better, and there's one thing very interesting about them, that I think applies to what we've been talking about this morning. Great Pyrenees are guard dogs, mostly used to guard animals in the mountains and hills. The interesting thing about them, though, is that as guard dogs they can appear to be very laid back, not really paying attention to what's going on. Looks can be deceiving though, because even though they seem like they're just laying around, they are very aware of their surroundings and always looking out for potential danger. The minute they see or sense something, they don't bark--being that the herds they're protecting can at times be very close to cliffs, barking and scaring them can be dangerous--instead they get in between what they're guarding and the perceived danger, and they nudge what they're protecting away from the danger. Isn't that such a great picture of what Christian community should look like?! What a wonderful, merciful God to give us such a great example in his creation of what we should be doing for one another!
Accountability doesn't mean we're always looking for the worst in people's lives. Much like the Great Pyrenees, we're just supposed to be around those that we're called into community with, not pacing, nervous, looking for sin, but always aware, no matter what we're doing, of potential dangers. And when we see them, the idea is not to bark and get all bothered, but to get in between the person and the perceived danger and nudge them away from it, back to safety."
Monday, October 20, 2008
Relationships Within the Body: Leftovers
Trying to come up with leftovers to yesterday's lesson is pretty daunting. The buzz and amount of discussion that it created are both encouraging and overwhelming. It seems that there are two different responses from the group that we can categorize. One is that for some folks this lesson came completely out-of-the-blue. They weren't aware that unhealthy guy-girl relationships existed in the group, so for them the lesson kind of left them scratching their heads. To those folks, I would say, "Great! You're obviously involved in the right kinds of relationships, so keep doing what you're doing."
For the vast majority of folks, though, there seemed to be a sense of frustration. They recognized that there's a problem, and they want to see things change, but they were really dealing with the fact that, in the lesson, I didn't give any practical steps or rules as to what to do. This was on purpose, as I said in the lesson, but I think it did present some folks with a sense of "what do we do now?" It's as if they would have preferred I give "5 Guidelines for Healthy Relationships with the Opposite Sex." Problem is, I couldn't do that because that's not what the Bible does. There aren't any specific rules or guidelines given for how singles should interact in community, and so we are left with a mess to kind of sort through.
One of the few things I'm sure of about this issue, though, is that we cannot fall into legalism. We cannot come up with a list of rules and guidelines and expect that these will solve the issue. It just doesn't work that way. The law (whether about holiness, dating, or whatever) will only condemn us because we can't live up to it. But, so often if feels easier instead of asking ourselves the really hard questions the gospel forces us to.
My guess is we aren't done as a group with this issue, and I'm actually looking forward to grappling with it together in the coming weeks and months!
For the vast majority of folks, though, there seemed to be a sense of frustration. They recognized that there's a problem, and they want to see things change, but they were really dealing with the fact that, in the lesson, I didn't give any practical steps or rules as to what to do. This was on purpose, as I said in the lesson, but I think it did present some folks with a sense of "what do we do now?" It's as if they would have preferred I give "5 Guidelines for Healthy Relationships with the Opposite Sex." Problem is, I couldn't do that because that's not what the Bible does. There aren't any specific rules or guidelines given for how singles should interact in community, and so we are left with a mess to kind of sort through.
One of the few things I'm sure of about this issue, though, is that we cannot fall into legalism. We cannot come up with a list of rules and guidelines and expect that these will solve the issue. It just doesn't work that way. The law (whether about holiness, dating, or whatever) will only condemn us because we can't live up to it. But, so often if feels easier instead of asking ourselves the really hard questions the gospel forces us to.
My guess is we aren't done as a group with this issue, and I'm actually looking forward to grappling with it together in the coming weeks and months!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Relationships Outside the Body: Leftovers
I didn't teach Sunday School this week. Actually, I wasn't even at Sunday School this week, opting instead to head to the beach for 72 hours of just being away from the fray. At any rate, I have it on good authority, that the lesson was on evangelism and reaching out to non-believers that we know and work, live, and play around and with in the normal course of days and weeks.
Here's the question that I've been asking myself about evangelism recently: what's my motivation for it? I mean, really, I've "shared my faith" as it were in about four different countries on three different continents, and I wonder, really, what my motivation for evangelism is. I don't have an answer for that question yet, but here are the possibilities I've come up with so far: because I was commanded to in Scripture; becuase I really love people and want them to know Christ and have a relationship with him; because I really do believe that anyone who does not trust Christ will spend eternity in Hell and anyone who does will spend eternity in Heaven; because I want to show my gratitude and love to God for calling and drawing me to himself; because it's what good Christians do; because it was my job; because I want there to be lots and lots of folks worshipping God and the only way they can do that is to be his children; because it brings glory to God.
I'm not saying that any of those reasons, in and of themselves, are bad reasons (although some of them might be more biblical than others), but what struck me were all the reasons that there are, just in my own mind for sharing Christ and "doing evangelism." I'm not even sure there's one particular answer I'm supposed to land on, but it is interesting to think and pray about, because I am pretty convinced that unless I have a motivation that's significant and compelling, I won't share my faith.
Here's the question that I've been asking myself about evangelism recently: what's my motivation for it? I mean, really, I've "shared my faith" as it were in about four different countries on three different continents, and I wonder, really, what my motivation for evangelism is. I don't have an answer for that question yet, but here are the possibilities I've come up with so far: because I was commanded to in Scripture; becuase I really love people and want them to know Christ and have a relationship with him; because I really do believe that anyone who does not trust Christ will spend eternity in Hell and anyone who does will spend eternity in Heaven; because I want to show my gratitude and love to God for calling and drawing me to himself; because it's what good Christians do; because it was my job; because I want there to be lots and lots of folks worshipping God and the only way they can do that is to be his children; because it brings glory to God.
I'm not saying that any of those reasons, in and of themselves, are bad reasons (although some of them might be more biblical than others), but what struck me were all the reasons that there are, just in my own mind for sharing Christ and "doing evangelism." I'm not even sure there's one particular answer I'm supposed to land on, but it is interesting to think and pray about, because I am pretty convinced that unless I have a motivation that's significant and compelling, I won't share my faith.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Pro and Con of Being Single, Part Two: Leftovers
Yesterday in Sunday School we looked at the Pro and Con of being single, as laid out in I Corinthians 7. I think the idea that struck me as I was preparing for the lesson was just how Paul saw singleness as such a gift from the Lord, and it was becuase he knew that there was no way he would be able to accomplish all that God had called him to do, in the short time he'd been given. I think so often in the Bible we see men and women who just felt the urgency of the hour. Over and over again biblical writers talk about the time being at hand, or the present as being the end of the age, and I don't think they're doing it in the same way that folks did before "Y2K." I think that when you see your mission on this earth to spread the glory of God throughout the earth, there's no way you could ever think you'll have enough time to do that.
My prayer for us singles at Oak Mountain is that we would be a group that would be so captivated by the grandness of what God has called us to do that our singleness would be seen as a tremendous blessing, for however long God gives it to us, and that we would be racing against the clock to see it accomplished.
My prayer for us singles at Oak Mountain is that we would be a group that would be so captivated by the grandness of what God has called us to do that our singleness would be seen as a tremendous blessing, for however long God gives it to us, and that we would be racing against the clock to see it accomplished.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Pro and Con of Being Single, Part One (Leftovers)
Yesterday was one of the hardest rounds of teaching I think I've ever done. It was difficult because it was a lot of emotions and feelings, which I tend to not be the greatest at, and it was difficult because I was giving some thoughts that are hard, honest, and ones that could potentially create some messes within the singles group.
I was working on my lesson last week, thinking that we would do the pro of singleness this week and the con next week, but as I started writing the lesson, I realized that the intro. to the lesson was becoming the lesson itself. That's because, before we can look at singleness and how it can benefit or hinder the spreading of God's glory and the furthering the kingdom, we had to address some of the underlying thoughts and feelings that folks in our group seem to have about being single in the first place. Thus, yesterday was about thirty minutes of brutal honesty and the saying of things that needed to be said. For those who missed it, here are the three points:
I was working on my lesson last week, thinking that we would do the pro of singleness this week and the con next week, but as I started writing the lesson, I realized that the intro. to the lesson was becoming the lesson itself. That's because, before we can look at singleness and how it can benefit or hinder the spreading of God's glory and the furthering the kingdom, we had to address some of the underlying thoughts and feelings that folks in our group seem to have about being single in the first place. Thus, yesterday was about thirty minutes of brutal honesty and the saying of things that needed to be said. For those who missed it, here are the three points:
- Some of you are mad at God because you're in your late 20's or early 30's and still single.
- Some of you feel you're utterly unloveable, and that's why you're still single.
- Some of you feel that your singleness is God's punishment for some past or present sin that you're dealing with.
I was so thankful to the Holy Spirit for giving the group that was there ears to hear and soft hearts to let these things be said. As I said yesterday, saying these things out loud doesn't make them go away. It doesn't make them necessarily even any easier to deal with, but at least it puts us all on the same footing as we begin to fight to see singleness as a gift from God for this season of our lives.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Knitted Together (Leftovers)
Yesterday in Sunday School we discussed spiritual gifts and how they give us insight into how God's wired us to function in the body of Christ. Now, I gotta say, that I was pretty hesitant about yesterday's lesson. Part of it was that I wasn't sure there was anything really new to be said about spiritual gifts, and the other part was that so many people have had less-than-stellar experiences with spiritual gifts tests over the years, that I was expecting a good bit of resistance. At any rate, it seemed like the next natural step in the progression of where we're headed in the class this semester, so I decided to plow through, and I'm glad I did.
One of the things that I didn't really get to hit on was the idea of the separation that exists between actually having a gift and using it. The test was designed as such that if you felt a need to do something or a desire to do something, that was an indication that you have that particular gift. It made no mention of whether you actually do the thing as an indication that you have the gift.
Here's the thing: I think that's a really good way to think about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are a lot like many other aspects of the Christian life. They are based in truth, in reality, not in what we perceive or what we do. Think about it like this. You're 100% justified in the sight of God. That is truth. You may not always feel like that, and you certainly may not always act like that, but it's reality nonetheless. Same thing with someone who has the gift of prayer or intercession. That gift is given to you --woven into you, to use Psalm 139 language -- and that's reality. The fact that you feel like you're a person of prayer, or the fact that you actually pray a lot doesn't really change that fact.
Again, so much of the time I want my Christian life to be about me. What I do, what I want, and I can totally discount God's sovereignty in the whole thing. Almost as if my doing makes it true. Wow, what an arrogant person I can be!
P.S. For those of you who would like to take the test we used in Sunday School yesterday, here's the link: http://pastoralcareinc.com/MR/Surveys/SpiritualGifts.html.
One of the things that I didn't really get to hit on was the idea of the separation that exists between actually having a gift and using it. The test was designed as such that if you felt a need to do something or a desire to do something, that was an indication that you have that particular gift. It made no mention of whether you actually do the thing as an indication that you have the gift.
Here's the thing: I think that's a really good way to think about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are a lot like many other aspects of the Christian life. They are based in truth, in reality, not in what we perceive or what we do. Think about it like this. You're 100% justified in the sight of God. That is truth. You may not always feel like that, and you certainly may not always act like that, but it's reality nonetheless. Same thing with someone who has the gift of prayer or intercession. That gift is given to you --woven into you, to use Psalm 139 language -- and that's reality. The fact that you feel like you're a person of prayer, or the fact that you actually pray a lot doesn't really change that fact.
Again, so much of the time I want my Christian life to be about me. What I do, what I want, and I can totally discount God's sovereignty in the whole thing. Almost as if my doing makes it true. Wow, what an arrogant person I can be!
P.S. For those of you who would like to take the test we used in Sunday School yesterday, here's the link: http://pastoralcareinc.com/MR/Surveys/SpiritualGifts.html.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Why the Church Matters, Part Two (Leftovers)
Yesterday in Sunday School, we continued our two-part look at the church that's forming the basis for the rest of our discussion this semester about how to live life as singles in the body. The self-sacrifice and "other-ness" membership in the body of Christ requires, continues to astound me. No matter if you're looking at what the church is or what it does, there's really in it's mission or working that's focused on us.
One quote that I didn't have time to share this week but that spoke pretty powerfully to me as I was preparing is from Bishop Lesslie Newbigin who was a 20th century Church of Scotland missionary, “The Church is the pilgrim people of God. It is on the move – hastening to the ends of the earth to beseech all men to be reconciled to God, and hastening to the end of time to meet its Lord who will gather all into one. It cannot be understood rightly except in a perspective which is at once missionary and eschatological. We have no liberty to stop until both ends have been reached.”
I just love the idea of the church looking outward and forward. Both eyes on slightly different goals, neither of which are self-satisfaction or self-service. I wonder if we spent our time and energy, money and resources focused on these two things, if we'd really even have time to think about or focus on ourselves? My guess is we'd be too exhausted and spent to use the energy. It's almost hard to imagine, because it's such a foreign concept to the way we do and think about ministry in an American, 21st-century context.
One quote that I didn't have time to share this week but that spoke pretty powerfully to me as I was preparing is from Bishop Lesslie Newbigin who was a 20th century Church of Scotland missionary, “The Church is the pilgrim people of God. It is on the move – hastening to the ends of the earth to beseech all men to be reconciled to God, and hastening to the end of time to meet its Lord who will gather all into one. It cannot be understood rightly except in a perspective which is at once missionary and eschatological. We have no liberty to stop until both ends have been reached.”
I just love the idea of the church looking outward and forward. Both eyes on slightly different goals, neither of which are self-satisfaction or self-service. I wonder if we spent our time and energy, money and resources focused on these two things, if we'd really even have time to think about or focus on ourselves? My guess is we'd be too exhausted and spent to use the energy. It's almost hard to imagine, because it's such a foreign concept to the way we do and think about ministry in an American, 21st-century context.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Leftovers
This fall I'm teaching one of the Sunday School classes at my church for singles. It's for singles in their 20's and 30's, and we're doing a series called Life in the Body. It's designed to take a look at church life from a single's perspective. I get thirty minutes to teach each week, which is still about 15 minutes longer than most people are willing to listen to me, and so I'm finding that there's a lot more information and insight that comes up in my studying than I have time to present on Sunday mornings. So, here's the thing: I'm going to do a weekly post dealing with the "leftovers" from the previous Sunday's lesson. I'm putting the label "Sunday School Leftovers" on each post, so if you want to find them quickly, you can search that way.
It won't be a re-hashing of all the points from the lesson, but more a chance for me to clarify points and bring up things I didn't have time to. It's also a place where you can post questions or comments or even ideas about what you think would be helpful moving forward in the class, so hopefully the discussion continues.
It won't be a re-hashing of all the points from the lesson, but more a chance for me to clarify points and bring up things I didn't have time to. It's also a place where you can post questions or comments or even ideas about what you think would be helpful moving forward in the class, so hopefully the discussion continues.
Why the Church Matters, Part One (Leftovers)
The text from Sunday was Hebrews 12:22-29, where we get a glimpse of heaven and some very useful starting points to defining the church.
Here's the thing I didn't have time to tackle: it's on the notion that the world (and Christians) often give that the church is full of hypocrisy and sin, or the idea that the wheat the tares that Christ talked about in Matthew 13, makes it impossible to trust any local body. Well, that didn't seem t obother Christ or the apostles. In Matthew 16:13-19, Christ set the apostles up as those on whom he'd build his church, and presumably Judas was standing right there. Not only that, but Christ had been with these guys for the past three years or so, and he'd seen their lack of faith, their mess-ups, etc., and yet he still gave them the task of building the church. In I Corinthians 1:10-11; Galatians 1:6; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 4; and Rev. 2-3, we see the apostles and Chrsit calling out the sin (specific and general) in local churches, admonishing them toward holiness and purity, but never, never, giving up on them or withdrawing support of them, simply because sin existed in them. See the visible church is always going to be an imperfect and skewed view of the true, catholic church. That's why, as believers, one of our jobs is to fight and pray for its purity and right handling of the Word and sacraments. But, if Christ doesn't give up on his bride, we shouldn't either.
Any thoughts/questions you have from Sunday's lesson, or thoughts for future lessons would be greatly appreciated and welcome!
Here's the thing I didn't have time to tackle: it's on the notion that the world (and Christians) often give that the church is full of hypocrisy and sin, or the idea that the wheat the tares that Christ talked about in Matthew 13, makes it impossible to trust any local body. Well, that didn't seem t obother Christ or the apostles. In Matthew 16:13-19, Christ set the apostles up as those on whom he'd build his church, and presumably Judas was standing right there. Not only that, but Christ had been with these guys for the past three years or so, and he'd seen their lack of faith, their mess-ups, etc., and yet he still gave them the task of building the church. In I Corinthians 1:10-11; Galatians 1:6; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 4; and Rev. 2-3, we see the apostles and Chrsit calling out the sin (specific and general) in local churches, admonishing them toward holiness and purity, but never, never, giving up on them or withdrawing support of them, simply because sin existed in them. See the visible church is always going to be an imperfect and skewed view of the true, catholic church. That's why, as believers, one of our jobs is to fight and pray for its purity and right handling of the Word and sacraments. But, if Christ doesn't give up on his bride, we shouldn't either.
Any thoughts/questions you have from Sunday's lesson, or thoughts for future lessons would be greatly appreciated and welcome!
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