Sojos Church 2007-8

SojoS Church 2007-8

We are Sojourners, passing through this world.  Because the age we live in is so transitory, God has given us a design for community that corresponds to such changes.  In Christ we are part of a family that does not break up, and we are seeking a city that cannot be shaken.  On that journey we are called to assemble ourselves together with the family members around us.  June 2007 saw the scattering of a number of family members who have been part of our local assembly.  Since July, we have been forming up a fresh group.  Some remain from before, others are being added from other church assemblies or as new members in the family through repentance and baptism.  We have patiently wandered in this transition for a couple of months, and now we are ready to set up our tents for a season.

This Sunday we will present a vision for the church and a fresh invitation for membership.  Russell will continue to be an elder and has invited Dan Scott to share in that responsibility.  As elders we are to be responsible to ensure that we have a church assembly that honors Christ as the chief overseer (elder / shepherd).  We are responsible to live out the faith and to lead others in living out the faith.  Of great importance is living out the faith through the exercising of your gifts and experiences in Christ.  We are to do our best to see that you are growing in your character and the use of that character in service as part of the Kingdom of royal priests. 

Now that I have slipped into the language of Zion, let me translate: Dan and I will be in charge of making sure we have a group of people who are actually building on the wisdom of Jesus.  We are all supposed to be getting better at learning and living that wisdom in ways that are similar, but also unique.  God has made each of us to serve him and others and the church is the group of people who help us all do that.

Why Dan and Russell?  Simply put, we have direct experience in elder functions and we sense that God has lead our families together to serve in that way for now.

Next message:  What does it take to be a member

Sojos Memebership

What does it take to be a member of a local assembly of Jesus followers (like SojoS)?  Repentance, baptism and a life of choosing wisely in humility. 

Repentance:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17)

Jesus went about saying to repent.  The Greek expression is to really change your mind.  What are we to change our minds about?  The Kingdom of God is at hand!  Do you believe that God's Kingdom is here and now and that Jesus is the King?  If so, have you put your allegiance and trust in him?  As Paul says:

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:8-9)

Jesus believed that God's Kingdom was where our allegiance should be.  He did not need to RE-pent (change from wrong thinking to right) but he still needed to be baptized.  John the Baptist was shocked because everyone he baptized was turning from wrong thinking and action toward right faith and behavior.  But the point of baptism that we share with Jesus is the second half; the moving toward.  Jesus said,

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. (Matthew 3:15)

We are immersed into our active allegiance to Jesus as Lord in Baptism.  If we have had other allegiances, we renounce our loyalty to them and declare our trust to solely rest in Jesus as the Captain of our Salvation, our King.  It is how we join the counter-revolution to see the creator overcome fallen creation with new creation; in us and then through us.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

What is that newness of life?  A series of choices.  We declare our allegiance (trust, faith, confidence, loyalty) to Jesus as King (Lord, Kurios) and we are expected to live accordingly.  That requires growing up.  We do that as individuals, but not alone.  We are individual members of a family and we grow together.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

So, if you have declared your faith in Jesus as Lord and demonstrated it in baptism and growing in his ways, you can choose to join with us.  We are specifically aiming to help young adults (teens) grown in their faith.  Though it is not a requirement to be a teen or connected to a teen, we must be clear that our focus is on teens and we might not meet the needs or expectations as well as another church assembly might.  By choosing to join you are expected to come to our gatherings with the question: "How can I grow through helping others grow?"  You should be diligent not only in your attendance, but also in your preparation and in your participation. 

Prayerfully consider whether you should be a member of SoJoS Church 2007/8!

Shalom,

Russell Minick

Dukkha? Rejoice!

"Life is DUKKHA" said the Buddha. It was his starting point for dealing with life. What is Dukkha? Sickness, financial problems, old age, death. Dukkha is the grinding weariness of knowing another hardship, tragedy or disappointment is just around the next corner. So what is Buddha's solution? Detach. If you don't care about the world around you in any attached sense, then tragedy won't sink you. Eventually you will have nothing in common with this world of Dukkha-ness and will float beyond…

Jesus said to love God and to love people, including ourselves. The problem is, however, that we often feel let down by God and people, including ourselves. How should we respond? Paul says, cheer up!. Actually, what he says is "rejoice!" How is that any more hopeful than what the Buddha said?

First, rejoice, you aren't crazy. Everyone has Chronic Dukkha Syndrome. Suffering just won't leave us alone. It is not just you, it is life in this present age. Second, not only are you not unique in suffering, you are not alone. God calls hurting people to love him and others. How can he do that "from way up… wherever he is"? The good news is that God is has not been giving advice from "out there". God in Christ has come and not only experienced the Dukkha of life, Jesus has in fact borne its full weight and risen in victory. You are not called to love just any God, you are called to love the God who has joined you in hardship, and more importantly, has overcome hardship. Rejoice! Dukkha does not win. In Christ we do not suffer without hope. We suffer as we pass through a temporary world while declaring and displaying a new creation, a world where Dukkha will not find a place.

Philippians is a letter from a guy who started a church through suffering (Acts 16). Paul went on from that episode of suffering to a string of other dramatic and traumatic episodes. In his letter Paul passes on his confidence "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Paul's prayer for people learning to live the life in Christ is that they get good at loving wisely. When they do, they will be able to respond to hardship like he does: "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me." (Philippians 2:17-18)

As we study the letter of Philippians together, let's look for the wisdom and power to be people who overcome hardship with joyful confidence. Though we may be tempted to give up hope and become cynical and just find ways to cope, there is a better way. We can get better at loving wisely and living successfully as a result. Let us pray the prayer Paul prayed for those he loved. Let us pray for each other this way:

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

(Philippians 1:9-11)

(Sunday worship will have a brief retelling of the founding of the church in Philippi (Acts 16) and then we will study Chapter 1 verses 1-11. Memorizing 1:6 and 1:9-11 would really help in understanding and applying Philippians to our lives)