In June Sojos went back to sojourning. 3 families moved and most of the rest of us launched out on one challenge/adventure or another.
Sunday July 8 we had church at the Minicks with Audrey, Rachel and Cresta. It was good to be back together. We started Ephesians. I will try and give summaries as we go. Our hope is to go through the letter fairly quickly and then to start a new church focus in early September.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Hebrews 13:1-7 Love People?
We all know the two things in life according to Jesus = Love God / Love people
But really, what does it mean to love people?
be hospitable - actually take people in when they come to you, receive them
be considerate - actually reach out to those who could use some support
be appropriate - love is not random; there are right and wrong ways to express it
be grounded - acting in love requires a reliable foundation; God, not personal gain
be teachable - others are good at love and should be followed; none more than Jesus himself
Hospitable - (13:2) How you treat a guest expresses their value. Abe did not know who his guest were, so he gave them the best. The essence of the admonition is to give people the benefit of the doubt and receive them as if they ought to be well received. Whether they are exceptional, like Abe’s guests, or ordinary, like most of our guests, consider Jesus' warning in Matthew 25-
Considerate – Reacting lovingly to people who come to you is hard enough. Now the preacher says we need to be proactive. Specifically, he challenges people to seek out others in need. The historical reasons were practical; they really had brothers in prison that needed help. Also, the readers were afraid of following Jesus, partly out of fear that they would end up in prison. Well, all the more reason to have a community that deals with that problem!
We too, whether we know imprisoned people or not, do have a calling to intentionally reach out to people who could use some love. The motivation should be pure and simple: God is overcoming evil with good, I am following God as my Lord, and therefore I seek to overcome evil with good. So, if people are not able to reach out because they are held back, by their own wrongdoing or the wrongdoing of others, we should see them as worth our energy, worth our love. After all, we are connected with them. Particularly if they are brothers who are in bondage, but even if they aren’t, we are seeking to make a growing community of redeemed people committed to the grace of God as the hope for humanity and all of creation.
Appropriate – so how do we show love to others? The most dramatic form of love is romantic (polite way of saying sexual) love. Certain cults capitalize on the craving to experience love by sanctioning ‘free love’ (and they mean sex). The unbound acceptance is, well, seductive in one sense, disturbing in another. The disturbing part is the awareness that romantic love is not first and foremost physical. It is first about covenant belonging, deep connection. God has made that connection special by limiting it to one man with one woman for one mutual life. Two problems are mentioned:
The first is just sex for sex sake. The issue is not marriage, it is misuse of the body (and the would be unnoticed misuse of the soul). That is the problem with porn (and where the name comes from!).
πόρνος por'-nos From πέρνημι pernēmi (to sell; akin to the base of G4097); a (male) prostitute (as venal), that is, (by analogy) a debauchee (libertine): - fornicator, whoremonger.
The idea is that soulless use of the body for sexual pleasure works, but only for the body, and at the expense of the soul. The heart rate accelerates with pornos (via internet, movies, or actually with someone in person), and there is the tantalizing hope of the soul being satisfied too. But that is the tragic failure of sex out of bounds. It is not that it is shocking, as if God were naïve, it is that it is ignorant. Pornos fails to understand complete satisfaction and keeps thinking if it just varies the techniques or partners, it will work better next time.
The other problem is adultery. Once a covenant of marriage is sealed, and romantic love (sexual) has its place, it assumes lifelong security. These warnings should be given before marriage. “Hey young people, choose wisely. Make sure as you can that you and the one you are going to marry really have the maturity to make a covenant that lasts for better or for worse. Not all faithful marriages are great, but all truly great marriages are faithful!! (I know this could be debated, but I would enter such a debate with strong confidence J)
Grounded – When you are grounded in God’s love for you, you are not as vulnerable to the fear of rejection or lost advantage. Simply put, we often love for selfish reasons. People who can help us are easier to love than people who can’t. People who can make you rich? Lovely…
Be free to love without being subject to people’s ability to give or take away things you value. The only real way to do this is to love what cannot be taken away: God and that which is hidden in God.
Teachable – How do I do this? Find people who are doing it relatively well and learn from them. Some of the best teachers live on in their writings. Other teachers are right around you. Surprisingly, you should count yourself as a teacher, and if not yet, grow up so you can teach others. How do we teach and learn from teachers? Pay attention to the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of human relationships. Watch for people who are good at loving through their hospitality, consideration, appropriateness and groundedness.
And remember, Jesus is the standard, and the standard doesn’t change.
But really, what does it mean to love people?
Let brotherly love continue. (2) Do not neglect to show hospitality toHebrews make the argument that following Christ further forward is the best way even when we get tired, scared or distracted and don't want to. If we stop to consider Jesus, we should move forward in our faith in him. Essentially, we follow his example. That should affect how we relate to people around us. So here are some areas of advice from the preacher:
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (3) Remember those
who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated,
since you also are in the body. (4) Let marriage be held in honor among all, and
let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and
adulterous. (5) Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what
you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (6) So we
can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to
me?" (7) Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:1-8
be hospitable - actually take people in when they come to you, receive them
be considerate - actually reach out to those who could use some support
be appropriate - love is not random; there are right and wrong ways to express it
be grounded - acting in love requires a reliable foundation; God, not personal gain
be teachable - others are good at love and should be followed; none more than Jesus himself
Hospitable - (13:2) How you treat a guest expresses their value. Abe did not know who his guest were, so he gave them the best. The essence of the admonition is to give people the benefit of the doubt and receive them as if they ought to be well received. Whether they are exceptional, like Abe’s guests, or ordinary, like most of our guests, consider Jesus' warning in Matthew 25-
I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,Practically, we are to receive people with genuine generosity of spirit. From the heart, choose to think well of people. This is not being naïve, it is being hopeful. Our hope is that people are created in God’s image and that God is good. Even fallen man is called to be redeemed and renewed, so we should receive with faith. Our faith is in action when we speak to, give to, respond to other people with genuine belief that all is potentially redeemable by God. For cynics, like my historic tendency, struggle with this. Consider Jesus, and then try again.
(43) I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe
me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' (44) Then they also will
answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' (45) Then he will
answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to me.' (46) And these will go away into
eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew
25:42-46
Considerate – Reacting lovingly to people who come to you is hard enough. Now the preacher says we need to be proactive. Specifically, he challenges people to seek out others in need. The historical reasons were practical; they really had brothers in prison that needed help. Also, the readers were afraid of following Jesus, partly out of fear that they would end up in prison. Well, all the more reason to have a community that deals with that problem!
We too, whether we know imprisoned people or not, do have a calling to intentionally reach out to people who could use some love. The motivation should be pure and simple: God is overcoming evil with good, I am following God as my Lord, and therefore I seek to overcome evil with good. So, if people are not able to reach out because they are held back, by their own wrongdoing or the wrongdoing of others, we should see them as worth our energy, worth our love. After all, we are connected with them. Particularly if they are brothers who are in bondage, but even if they aren’t, we are seeking to make a growing community of redeemed people committed to the grace of God as the hope for humanity and all of creation.
Appropriate – so how do we show love to others? The most dramatic form of love is romantic (polite way of saying sexual) love. Certain cults capitalize on the craving to experience love by sanctioning ‘free love’ (and they mean sex). The unbound acceptance is, well, seductive in one sense, disturbing in another. The disturbing part is the awareness that romantic love is not first and foremost physical. It is first about covenant belonging, deep connection. God has made that connection special by limiting it to one man with one woman for one mutual life. Two problems are mentioned:
The first is just sex for sex sake. The issue is not marriage, it is misuse of the body (and the would be unnoticed misuse of the soul). That is the problem with porn (and where the name comes from!).
πόρνος por'-nos From πέρνημι pernēmi (to sell; akin to the base of G4097); a (male) prostitute (as venal), that is, (by analogy) a debauchee (libertine): - fornicator, whoremonger.
The idea is that soulless use of the body for sexual pleasure works, but only for the body, and at the expense of the soul. The heart rate accelerates with pornos (via internet, movies, or actually with someone in person), and there is the tantalizing hope of the soul being satisfied too. But that is the tragic failure of sex out of bounds. It is not that it is shocking, as if God were naïve, it is that it is ignorant. Pornos fails to understand complete satisfaction and keeps thinking if it just varies the techniques or partners, it will work better next time.
The other problem is adultery. Once a covenant of marriage is sealed, and romantic love (sexual) has its place, it assumes lifelong security. These warnings should be given before marriage. “Hey young people, choose wisely. Make sure as you can that you and the one you are going to marry really have the maturity to make a covenant that lasts for better or for worse. Not all faithful marriages are great, but all truly great marriages are faithful!! (I know this could be debated, but I would enter such a debate with strong confidence J)
Grounded – When you are grounded in God’s love for you, you are not as vulnerable to the fear of rejection or lost advantage. Simply put, we often love for selfish reasons. People who can help us are easier to love than people who can’t. People who can make you rich? Lovely…
Be free to love without being subject to people’s ability to give or take away things you value. The only real way to do this is to love what cannot be taken away: God and that which is hidden in God.
Teachable – How do I do this? Find people who are doing it relatively well and learn from them. Some of the best teachers live on in their writings. Other teachers are right around you. Surprisingly, you should count yourself as a teacher, and if not yet, grow up so you can teach others. How do we teach and learn from teachers? Pay attention to the ‘why’s and ‘how’s of human relationships. Watch for people who are good at loving through their hospitality, consideration, appropriateness and groundedness.
And remember, Jesus is the standard, and the standard doesn’t change.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Why Did the Son of God Have to Share Our Humanity?
Taken from "HEBREWS: A CALL TO COMMITMENT" by William L. Lane
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to experience death on behalf of others (.9);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to bring us to glory (v.10);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to vanquish our adversary, the devil (vv. 14-15);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to become a fully qualified high priest (vv. 17-18).
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to experience death on behalf of others (.9);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to bring us to glory (v.10);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to vanquish our adversary, the devil (vv. 14-15);
The Son of God had to share our humanity in order to become a fully qualified high priest (vv. 17-18).
Hebrews 2 by RMM
The SON is greater than angels because they don’t have his nature or role:
Hebrews 2:1-4
So, if the angelically accompanied covenant was serious, how much more serious a covenant by one far superior to angels? We better not drift; we must pay attention.
God did not appoint angels to rule over this created world, he assigned that to people. Even though we are lower than the angels, everything else is supposed to be under our authority. But that is not what we experience right now.
Hebrews 2:9-10
Jesus comes as a man and does what we cannot do, face death and live. As our champion, he is made completely able to save us by being one of us, even to the point of suffering and death.
Hebrews 2:11-18
So, in order to free us from the fear of death and the adversary who exploits that fear, he was with us in every way. Being one of us, he is not ashamed of us. Having been one of us, we have a high priest who really does understand and will lead us to the role we had in creation.
Hebrews 1 by RMM
Hebrews 1:1-4
In the old days, God spoke through different people, such that what they said was the word of the Lord. The prophets got bits and pieces of the story, but, there is one that gives the whole thing. Listen to what is so special about God’s son:
Heir, creator, glory, image, mover, savior, ruler
1:5-14
Vs 5b He is a Son to the Father like Solomon is to David. But Solomon was to build a temple and a kingdom that did not last, Jesus is the Son who builds a temple and a kingdom that does last. We are that temple, the church, the dwelling place of God.
Vs 6. is about angels not receiving worship, but giving worship. Just like in the opening where Jesus is called the shining forth of the Glory of God, in Ps 97:6 and 7 Jesus is the glory of God revealed for everyone, all nations and even the angels to worship.
Vs 7. is the writer’s description of the Son as the image of the Father, and he quotes ps 104:4 showing that the angels change their image, in fact, we are later told to be careful, we could be talking with someone who looks like a person, but is really an angel.
Vs 8,9 is about what the Son is carrying along; not just the physical universe (though that is true too). The Son is carrying along a bride and a promise of princes and princesses in psalm 45:10ff.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Harbison House for Sept 17
Our schedule is basically
1st Sunday - Church co-op
2nd - Minick
3rd - Harbison
4th - Harris
5th - Hughes
Should we start earlier than 10:30? What does everyone think?
9:00?
9:30?
10:00?
10:30?
I would be ok with greetings between 9-9:30, worship starts at 9:30. Better ending time that way, even if it is a little more pressure to get up and going. Good question though, Jerod.
1st Sunday - Church co-op
2nd - Minick
3rd - Harbison
4th - Harris
5th - Hughes
Should we start earlier than 10:30? What does everyone think?
9:00?
9:30?
10:00?
10:30?
I would be ok with greetings between 9-9:30, worship starts at 9:30. Better ending time that way, even if it is a little more pressure to get up and going. Good question though, Jerod.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
September 10 at Minck home
Sunday we will meet at the Minick household to begin our study of HEBREWS. Come prepared to share a little bit about where you are in your sojourning, and how you can give and receive as we work together to learn from the Word.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. (Hebrews 13:20-22)
The Function of the Warning Passages in the Structure and Argument of Hebrews
The warning passages in the book of Hebrews have an important role to play in our assessment of the doctrine of perseverence. Whether Hebrews teaches the final perseverence of the saints or whether it can be shown to teach that some genuine Christians will fall away and not be saved on the last day is an important and hotly debated topic.
full article
All good doctrine must begin with exegesis of the biblical text itself
As a preliminary to that debate, this article examines...full article
Doctrinal Theme of Hebrews? DTS
300 Bibliotheca Sacra / July–September 1989
The Doctrinal Center of the Book of Hebrews...
Conclusion
The expository sections of Hebrews center on the doctrine of the high priesthood of Christ. The paraenetic sections, on the other hand, are dominated by the pilgrimage motif.39 Two questions pre-sent themselves: Which of the two themes is central to the epistle as a whole? How are the two to be integrated? Attempting to answer the first question is almost futile. The two themes are not
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
SOJOS’ 1ST SUNDAY HOUSE CHURCH CO-OP
Sunday September 3 Sojos’ will be meeting at the Sojos’ south, right in front of Grace. We will begin singing at 10:30 and will close our worship time around 11:30. We will then share a meal (potluck).
Presently, our plan is as follows. Sojos (Kirk and Russell as elders) is a small house church that wants to stay small most Sundays so we can focus on a dialogue environment for equipping teens. So what do we do if we meet people who are looking for a church? We try and help them find one that fits. We have had times in our church where so many people have come that it becomes really difficult to equip through dialogue. So, if there is not healthy room in our house church, we either connect them with a house church that has more room, or we look to start a new house church. We want to keep our vision for ministry in our group but also help others form up groups. That is where the “co-op” comes in.
The first Sunday of each month will be set aside for a gathering of Christians, mainly from other small house churches. Just like home-schoolers who value a house sized school, we do not want to directly grow into a bigger single church. What we would like to do is help others experience what we experience by doing some of the things we have been doing. The co-op is intended to be a place to be connected with friends in other house churches and a way to naturally share ideas, resources and opportunities for new people and new groups to form.
We would love to try and answer any questions or comments.
Presently, our plan is as follows. Sojos (Kirk and Russell as elders) is a small house church that wants to stay small most Sundays so we can focus on a dialogue environment for equipping teens. So what do we do if we meet people who are looking for a church? We try and help them find one that fits. We have had times in our church where so many people have come that it becomes really difficult to equip through dialogue. So, if there is not healthy room in our house church, we either connect them with a house church that has more room, or we look to start a new house church. We want to keep our vision for ministry in our group but also help others form up groups. That is where the “co-op” comes in.
The first Sunday of each month will be set aside for a gathering of Christians, mainly from other small house churches. Just like home-schoolers who value a house sized school, we do not want to directly grow into a bigger single church. What we would like to do is help others experience what we experience by doing some of the things we have been doing. The co-op is intended to be a place to be connected with friends in other house churches and a way to naturally share ideas, resources and opportunities for new people and new groups to form.
We would love to try and answer any questions or comments.
Sojos House Church Co-op meeting notes Monday August 28
September 2006 Sojos-church network
The CHURCH (i.e. universal) is everyone who is IN CHRIST
local churches are specific assemblies of members of The CHURCH
local churches include the requirements to be in The CHURCH
local churches also have specific requirements not included in The CHURCH
location
time
language
and various other factors for various reasons
small local churches (like house churches) may form with intentionally specific elements
in this house and that house
a certain time (Saturday night meetings, or Sunday morning for a short time, or for a long time…
in English, Thai, Spanish, Mandarin
focused on families, singles, etc.
small churches who are focused on specifics may need to include a time of meeting with others who have a different focus
So, this is what we at Sojos Church are trying to do.
We proclaim that Jesus is the Way to be in His CHURCH
We take the time and effort to be a local church assembly with specific limitations
We believe that to be a member at the Sojos Church you must be a member of The CHURCH (saved, born again, in Christ, etc.)
We believe that local churches should form with considerations of
A place
A time
A language
A focus, etc
Our church answers these questions more or less this way
We mainly meet at the homes of 4 families in our church
We mainly meet on Sunday mornings for 2-3 hours
We speak English, and specifically, we speak to the understanding level of teens
We aim to equip teenagers to take ownership of their faith by having involved expositional teaching with lots of dialogue
i. This means we need a place where we can interact
ii. This means we need time to interact
iii. This means we need to speak in a way that is understandable but challenging to teens
iv. This means we are not also “focused” on non-teens.
Since we are a small church which is focused on a primary concern, we also need to connect with other Christians in real and meaningful ways because, although our focus is rightly important to our local church, it is not the only important thing in The CHURCH (of which we too are a part).
So, what we would like is to grow our local church with a specific focus, but also with connection to others. Here is how it could work:
Several different churches with specific elements
A local church focused on a few teen families and some folks who connect with that vision
A local church focused on elementary aged kids in a relaxed dynamic that is very open to going with the flow as the Spirit leads
A local church focused on families focused on elementary aged kids in an intentional concise and organized church experience that starts and ends briefly enough for younger kids.
A local church that is intentionally open to a wide mix of singles, married with kids, no kids, senior adult.. whatever.
Alocal church… etc. etc.
Each of these particular churches might agree to an occasional gathering (monthly?) where a concise worship service and an extended fellowship time provides a way to be connected in meaningful ways to other Christians.
The occasional event would not be a church, but a network of churches celebrating that we are part of the CHURCH
The event would be less focused on teaching, more focused on connecting (good music, simple short message, good fellowship time)
Why would this be helpful?
Most of us are very busy and not wanting to spend unnecessary time trying to work through problems that don’t need fixing. Everyone who values a particular form of church should get with those who also value that form. Getting together helps us guard from being sectarian and elitist. It helps us to realize (intentionally) that we can value our local form of church and value other Christians who value a different form of local church.
Why not just be one big church?
We want to use our gifts.
We want to use our time most effectively for specific needs.
We like the tabernacling idea: we are sojourners, pilgrims, strangers.
We learn better when dialogue is included.
And more.
The CHURCH (i.e. universal) is everyone who is IN CHRIST
local churches are specific assemblies of members of The CHURCH
local churches include the requirements to be in The CHURCH
local churches also have specific requirements not included in The CHURCH
location
time
language
and various other factors for various reasons
small local churches (like house churches) may form with intentionally specific elements
in this house and that house
a certain time (Saturday night meetings, or Sunday morning for a short time, or for a long time…
in English, Thai, Spanish, Mandarin
focused on families, singles, etc.
small churches who are focused on specifics may need to include a time of meeting with others who have a different focus
So, this is what we at Sojos Church are trying to do.
We proclaim that Jesus is the Way to be in His CHURCH
We take the time and effort to be a local church assembly with specific limitations
We believe that to be a member at the Sojos Church you must be a member of The CHURCH (saved, born again, in Christ, etc.)
We believe that local churches should form with considerations of
A place
A time
A language
A focus, etc
Our church answers these questions more or less this way
We mainly meet at the homes of 4 families in our church
We mainly meet on Sunday mornings for 2-3 hours
We speak English, and specifically, we speak to the understanding level of teens
We aim to equip teenagers to take ownership of their faith by having involved expositional teaching with lots of dialogue
i. This means we need a place where we can interact
ii. This means we need time to interact
iii. This means we need to speak in a way that is understandable but challenging to teens
iv. This means we are not also “focused” on non-teens.
Since we are a small church which is focused on a primary concern, we also need to connect with other Christians in real and meaningful ways because, although our focus is rightly important to our local church, it is not the only important thing in The CHURCH (of which we too are a part).
So, what we would like is to grow our local church with a specific focus, but also with connection to others. Here is how it could work:
Several different churches with specific elements
A local church focused on a few teen families and some folks who connect with that vision
A local church focused on elementary aged kids in a relaxed dynamic that is very open to going with the flow as the Spirit leads
A local church focused on families focused on elementary aged kids in an intentional concise and organized church experience that starts and ends briefly enough for younger kids.
A local church that is intentionally open to a wide mix of singles, married with kids, no kids, senior adult.. whatever.
Alocal church… etc. etc.
Each of these particular churches might agree to an occasional gathering (monthly?) where a concise worship service and an extended fellowship time provides a way to be connected in meaningful ways to other Christians.
The occasional event would not be a church, but a network of churches celebrating that we are part of the CHURCH
The event would be less focused on teaching, more focused on connecting (good music, simple short message, good fellowship time)
Why would this be helpful?
Most of us are very busy and not wanting to spend unnecessary time trying to work through problems that don’t need fixing. Everyone who values a particular form of church should get with those who also value that form. Getting together helps us guard from being sectarian and elitist. It helps us to realize (intentionally) that we can value our local form of church and value other Christians who value a different form of local church.
Why not just be one big church?
We want to use our gifts.
We want to use our time most effectively for specific needs.
We like the tabernacling idea: we are sojourners, pilgrims, strangers.
We learn better when dialogue is included.
And more.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Sojos' Church Fall 2006
This Sunday we will be asking the 4 questions about how to do church again. Here is a recap:
I am suggesting that there are four main issues that we want to care for. Though we may have ideas about each individual issue, the challenge is in dealing with all four issues together.
TEACHING / INVOLVEMENT / BELONGING / OPENENESS
TEACHING: Sojos’ will continue to be a place where the Bible is taught reliably. We will continue to do responsible exposition of passages of Scripture, in context, with competent facilitation. We want to learn about what is true so we can best know what to do as we live out our lives.
We are planning on teaching through HEBREWS. Everyone will be encouraged to study the upcoming passages ahead of time. Each Sunday will begin with a recap of the Sunday before. We will work through this book together, working to see it shape our view of life and subsequently our way of life.
INVOLVEMENT: As Sojourners, a core value is that we each are on a journey that we need to actively pursue. To do this we need to be a group that mainly learns face to face. This means that our groups must be small enough and focused enough for everyone in a group to be able to open up and process with others. Too many people or too many different people, makes it difficult to do this.
Our involvement will work outward from the members who are rapidly approaching the end of their time at home and launching out on their own. This may frustrate some people who do not want to give up their time of interaction for the teenagers to have as much as we are planning to give them. Essentially, the elders have to say that is what we have to offer based on our attempts to listen to and obey God for the direction of this little church. Our suggestion at that point is to go start another church that is more fitting for the aspects you would like to include. We are limited people forming a limited church. We do not claim to be equipped to minister to every stage of life situation, in fact, we try to be clear that we are not equipped to do much more than work outward from the teen challenges at this phase in our life. If this is wrong, we will be held accountable for it, but that is what the elders are committed to and willing to be judged by God for pursuing. It is important that we each take ownership over this emphasis and work to make it effective and positive to the degree that God so leads.
BELONGING: As we have been involved with one another around reliable teaching, we have come to belong to one another in meaningful ways. As we adapt to fit the various needs of the growing church we want to make sure that everyone remains actually connected to one another in a way that helps us to experience that we continue to belong to one another.
We will be re-declaring covenant commitments to one another. "Belonging" in our church should be explicit first, implicit second. What that means is that we do not assume anyone is a member. We will discuss our goals and then give each person an opportunity to commit to our church pursuing those goals and values. Some may graciously decline to be in a specific local church due to the specific focus/dynamic at a given time. That is not a rejection of THE CHURCH or necessarily of the people in that particular church. It is merely an effort at apporpriately grouping in a particular church as an expression of being part of THE CHURCH.
OPENNESS: We are grateful for our church and we want to be open to sharing our blessings with others. We do not want to have to be hesitant about reaching out to people who are looking for a healthy church community. Whatever our changes, they need to be able to include others even if we include them in joining what we are doing by starting their own church like ours.
The question of adding more of anything to a limited container should be obvious to anyone. Unfortunately it is not. Traditionally, most friends of ours have been told that every church always has room for anyone who wants to come (except for racism issues that have sadly been too present in too many churches).
How can churches say anyone can come?
1) they have more building than people
2) more people means they can start a building program
3) along with a building program, they can hire more staff and grow the church
Why can't Sojos church do the same?
1) We have more people than building because our builiding is a living room
2) Our living rooms that cannot be expanded indefinitely.
There is an actual physical limitation. This should be obvious to people who stop and think, but sometimes people are intent on being offended and perceive hesitation to fit more people a living room sized church as some weird form of elitism, exclusivity etc.
3) We cannot hire more staff, since we do not hire staff.
Again, some unfortunate attitudes and comments have come from people not thinking through the uniqueness of a house church. How do we have a church? Two men, with no shortage of commitments in other spheres, agreed to serve as elders. Baptized believers agreed to be church and more or less live out the principles from Acts 2:42ff of praying together, following apostolic teaching, fellowshipping and breaking bread together. Almost any group of Christians can do the same thing! We cannot exclude people from the CHURCH, nor do we try to. We do not try to exclude people from our little church, we just ask a couple of obvious questions:
How can we physically fit more people in one room?
At what point does the number of people make it too hard to know and care for one another?
Why don't more people just do what we did and start a church in their living room with a focus that fits their concerns?
(It isn't easy, but you get out of it what you put into it. If you care enough about having a good church, do what it takes to form a good church. That is how THE CHURCH grows)
I have been thinking a great deal about how to balance all four issues. I am quite certain that it is not helpful to isolate any one issue and offer a solution that does not deal with how that issue affects and is affected by the other issues. The challenge of wisdom is not in imagining an ideal in one area, wisdom is in seeing the best integration in spite of sacrifice in individual areas.
Please come prepared to share your willingness to commit to and further shape the ideas shared in this short note. Our goal is to be faithful to DT 6 (love God and teach your own kids how to do the same) and to its New Testament expressions as in MT 28 and Acts 2 etc. We plead with mature Christians who are in Chiang Mai to understand that though we are not planning to expand beyond our living room size church, we are more than willing to share our insights on forming such a church so you can do what we have done. Nothing would please us more than to be surrounded by a community of committed little churches where sacrificially finding a way to do church well leads to an ever increasingly joyful, God-glorifying Chiang Mai.
Shalom,
Russell Minick and Kirk Harbison
Elders of
Friday, May 12, 2006
May 14 Mothers' Day at Minicks' 10:30 start
Sojos Trekkers will meet at the Minicks' house at 10:30. We will discuss what it means to be a mother, and refer to the endurance of mothers as a model for ministry:
1 Thessalonians 2
Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica 1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]
Paul's Longing to See the Thessalonians 17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. 19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
1 Thessalonians 2
Paul's Ministry in Thessalonica 1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]
Paul's Longing to See the Thessalonians 17But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. 19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Next Four Questions
Next Four Questions for Sojos’ Church
Since last fall we have been talking about the need to reshape our church. We have not finished reshaping for a number of reasons. I am suggesting that there are four main issues that we want to care for. Though we may have ideas about each individual issue, the challenge is in dealing with all four issues together.
TEACHING / INVOLVEMENT / BELONGING / OPENENESS
TEACHING: Sojos’ will continue to be a place where the Bible is taught reliably. We will continue to do responsible exposition of passages of Scripture, in context, with competent facilitation. We want to learn about what is true so we can best know what to do as we live out our lives.
INVOLVEMENT: As Sojourners, a core value is that we each are on a journey that we need to actively pursue. To do this we need to be a group that mainly learns face to face. This means that our groups must be small enough and focused enough for everyone in a group to be able to open up and process with others. Too many people or too many different people, makes it difficult to do this.
BELONGING: As we have been involved with one another around reliable teaching, we have come to belong to one another in meaningful ways. As we adapt to fit the various needs of the growing church we want to make sure that everyone remains actually connected to one another in a way that helps us to experience that we continue to belong to one another.
OPENNESS: We are grateful for our church and we want to be open to sharing our blessings with others. We do not want to have to be hesitant about reaching out to people who are looking for a healthy church community. Whatever our changes, they need to be able to include others.
I have been thinking for months about how to balance all four issues. It is not helpful to isolate any one issue and offer a solution that does not deal with how that issue affects and is affected by the other issues. If we try to seal off our group, that partially solves three of the issues but leaves us almost cult-like by not involving others. If we randomly divide into smaller groups, how will we stay connected with everyone, and how can we have confidence of appropriate teaching? If we just grow into a bigger church, what happens to involvement? The challenge of wisdom is not in imagining an ideal in one area, wisdom is in seeing the best integration in spite of sacrifice in individual areas.
If any of our church members have any suggestions of a model of church that will incorporate all four issues, please let Kirk and Russell know right away, preferably in writing (e-mail or a comment on the blog). We are of course willing to talk with anyone (we have had this as an open discussion for more than six months) but now we need to get specific. Just observing that we wish we did not have to change is no longer helpful. We have to decide which sacrifices are best in light of all the real factors that stand before us. God has a way, we will prayerfully, with hope, proceed as best we can.
Shalom,
Russell Minick
Since last fall we have been talking about the need to reshape our church. We have not finished reshaping for a number of reasons. I am suggesting that there are four main issues that we want to care for. Though we may have ideas about each individual issue, the challenge is in dealing with all four issues together.
TEACHING / INVOLVEMENT / BELONGING / OPENENESS
TEACHING: Sojos’ will continue to be a place where the Bible is taught reliably. We will continue to do responsible exposition of passages of Scripture, in context, with competent facilitation. We want to learn about what is true so we can best know what to do as we live out our lives.
INVOLVEMENT: As Sojourners, a core value is that we each are on a journey that we need to actively pursue. To do this we need to be a group that mainly learns face to face. This means that our groups must be small enough and focused enough for everyone in a group to be able to open up and process with others. Too many people or too many different people, makes it difficult to do this.
BELONGING: As we have been involved with one another around reliable teaching, we have come to belong to one another in meaningful ways. As we adapt to fit the various needs of the growing church we want to make sure that everyone remains actually connected to one another in a way that helps us to experience that we continue to belong to one another.
OPENNESS: We are grateful for our church and we want to be open to sharing our blessings with others. We do not want to have to be hesitant about reaching out to people who are looking for a healthy church community. Whatever our changes, they need to be able to include others.
I have been thinking for months about how to balance all four issues. It is not helpful to isolate any one issue and offer a solution that does not deal with how that issue affects and is affected by the other issues. If we try to seal off our group, that partially solves three of the issues but leaves us almost cult-like by not involving others. If we randomly divide into smaller groups, how will we stay connected with everyone, and how can we have confidence of appropriate teaching? If we just grow into a bigger church, what happens to involvement? The challenge of wisdom is not in imagining an ideal in one area, wisdom is in seeing the best integration in spite of sacrifice in individual areas.
If any of our church members have any suggestions of a model of church that will incorporate all four issues, please let Kirk and Russell know right away, preferably in writing (e-mail or a comment on the blog). We are of course willing to talk with anyone (we have had this as an open discussion for more than six months) but now we need to get specific. Just observing that we wish we did not have to change is no longer helpful. We have to decide which sacrifices are best in light of all the real factors that stand before us. God has a way, we will prayerfully, with hope, proceed as best we can.
Shalom,
Russell Minick
Friday, December 30, 2005
1 John Sketch by Minick
1 John Sketch by Minick
1 John 1:1-10
(1) The BEGINNING is the most transcendent (farthest from every day stuff) concept imaginable. You can’t go back in farther away than the beginning. Yet, the farthest concept, thing…person possible is the very same one they experienced as close as can be experienced. The WORD of LIFE is the stunning connection of the deepest and distant together with the most personal and immediate.
(2) What does one do with such information; with such an experience? Proclaim it. Don’t keep as a secret what was revealed. Reveal it more.
(3) The reason is that just as John and his friends were able to live connected to the transcendent and immanent, so can everyone who receives the message they proclaim and is brought into communion with the Father and the Son.
(4) A shared joy is a magnified joy.
(5) So, what is their message? God is totally good without bad.
(6) God plus a dark life does not add up. It is not a true life.
(7) Life in the essence of God is where we connect with others. The sacrificial death of Christ for our sins makes this possible
(8) The need for dealing with sin is a foundational truth we need to realize.
(9) Acknowledging our sins and sinfulness to Him is our way out of condemnation.
(10) Denial of our guilt accuses God and makes learning from Him impossible
1 John 2:1-29
(1) The point of the proclamation is to affect how we deal with sin. The goal is to avoid it and if necessary absolve it.
(2) Jesus Christ (the man who got life right) is the means of taking away God’s wrath at our sin, which if attached to us, means wrath towards us.
(3) Do we know the righteous man? Well, do we do what he says?
(4) e.g. “I know the righteous one, I just don’t do what he says” Nope. That one just does not get it.
(5) We need to actually do what he says, that is how God’s love grows in us and we have confidence about our faith. Without growing love from doing what he says no wonder people doubt their faith.
(6) IF I am IN HIM there should be some resemblance!
(7) So what is it that Jesus the righteous one said to do that John is now telling us to do? It is the same thing we have always heard.
(8) Still, there is a fresh angle to it in that Christ has lived it out for us and is making everything more clear.
(9) Enlightenment and contempt do not go together
(10) Valuing, loving other people (your brother) is living in enlightenment, and when you are enlightened, you can see where you are going and don’t need to be so worried about falling over things.
(11) But, if contempt is what you have for others, then you can’t see and you don’t know direction because darkness has blocked you.
(12) Again, the point is to make use of the forgiveness of our sins so that God’s name (Jesus=YHWH SAVES) will be honored
(13) Old guys are aware of the transcendent, young guys are focused on the immanent, kids feel the relationship
(14) Old guys are connected to him who is the source of all transcendence, lads are strong and active, living the word here and now.
(15) The cosmos and stuff in it are not to be loved (agape), that is not the Father’s agape and if you had the father’s agape you would not agape that stuff
(16) World=flesh desire, perception desire, pride desire, not from the Father.
(17) Cosmos will not last, nor will the desire thing. People who know and do God’s will remain.
(18) There is an antichrist after antichrists which shows the end is near
(19) Antichrists are people who abandon Christ and that shows they did not get it
(20) But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. The separated on has given you knowledge
(21) I am writing to help you focus on the truth you already have
(22) The lie is that Jesus is not enough, that Father and Son is not how it is
(23) There is no FATHER without the Son (and to have the Son is to have the Father)
(24) Grow in the basic start. The original message will keep you in the Son and Father
(25) Why? Eternal life is what the Son-Father promised.
(26) Watch out for people tricking you
(27) He gave you what you need and it is in you. Don’t be dependent on others teaching you. What has been poured into you is true and trustworthy. Listen to that and stay with Him
(28) So, stay in him and when He is finally shown fully we will not move away but towards
(29) When you think of him do you think “That’s Right!” If that is your value system in life you are His.
1 John 3:1-24
(1) God said we are his kids, because we are. The reason other people don’t see us this way is because they don’t know him.
(2) We are already God’s kids, but what that fully means is not yet revealed to us and won’t be until Christ shows up and we see him (and he is who we know we will be like).
(3) The hope of being like Christ motivates you to get on with cleaning yourself up to be clean and unmixed like him.
(4) The habit of ‘sin’ is the habit of not doing what you are designed and told to do. Sin=rebellion
(5) Christ came to take away rebellion, he is not a rebel
(6) You can’t abide, rest, exist in him and be a rebel at the same time. Defiant rebels have not seen or known him.
(7) Don’t be tricked, righteousness shows up in actions
(8) Active rebelling comes from the devil who has always been the rebelling. The Son of God came to put and end to the rebelliousness of the devil.
(9) If you are from God (born as his kid) you can’t persist in rebellion, it is not the nature in you that is from God.
(10) So, how do we distinguish God’s kids and the devil’s kids? See if the actually live out righteousness and love their brothers.
(11) The message from the start has been to actually love each other.
(12) Cain is not the example for us, he was evil and murdered his brother. He killed his brother because Cain was committed to evil actions and his brother to righteousness.
(13) So don’t be shocked that you meet people who hate you.
(14) Death is where there is no love, we know we have stepped out of that into life if we now are in fact loving.
(15) Hate your brother=murder. Murder?= no eternal life in him.
(16) How did he show he loved us? Gave his life. How do we love others? Give our lives.
(17) If love is giving our life but we won’t even give our $tuff, is it likely that God’s love matches that?
(18) Kids, come on, love isn’t just talk it is real and we do things.
(19) Actually living out love by sacrificial generosity reassures us inside our hearts
(20) God is greater than our hearts (which can put us down)
(21) But if even our own heart is not condemning us (we can have confidence there) then we can have confidence from God
(22) Since we have confidence because we are doing what he wants, we can ask and receive from him in the same way.
(23) So, what are we supposed to be doing? Trust in the NAME=Jesus and love each other like we were told.
(24) Do what he says, you are with him and him with you. His Spirit will let us know we are with him.
1 John 4:1-21
(1) Not every spirit or prophet is right.
(2) The transcendent became physically immanent in Jesus the Messiah is the test for any teaching/spirit
(3) Not with Jesus, not with God- This is the anti-Christ we warned about.
(4) Kids, God in you means you have won over them.
(5) This is their home territory, the fallen world, so they seem to fit
(6) People that belong to God get it when we explain and teach, that is how we see the difference in people.
(7) Our teaching is about effective love from God to one another,
(8) Knowing God means doing what is essential to him: love
(9) God’s love has shown up in Jesus as the way to life.
(10) Love is not us reaching to God, but God reaching to us in the real life and real death that really made it possible for us to relate to and love God.
(11) That example of Christ is what we should use for loving each other.
(12) We don’t see God who is love with our eyes, we need to love one another to have his love grow up in us so we can see him better.
(13) His spirit in us is how we know we are his.
(14) The apostles did see and say that Jesus is the one who came from God for the world.
(15) If you agree, you are with God.
(16) Again, love is where we meet God and others, that is where our confidence is.
(17) This confidence/faith is made sure when we are good at love and are therefore ready to meet him.
(18) We move from fear to love as we grow in love and grow away from the fear of judgment.
(19) Our love started with him.
(20) Loving God shows in loving people right in front of us.
(21) That is what God told us to do, love each other.
1 John 5:1-21
(1) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
(2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
(3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
(4) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
(5) Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(6) This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
(7) For there are three that testify:
(8) the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
(9) If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
(10) Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
(11) And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
(12) Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
(13) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
(14) And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
(15) And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
(16) If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life--to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
(17) All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
(18) We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
(19) We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
(20) And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
(21) Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
1 John 1:1-10
(1) The BEGINNING is the most transcendent (farthest from every day stuff) concept imaginable. You can’t go back in farther away than the beginning. Yet, the farthest concept, thing…person possible is the very same one they experienced as close as can be experienced. The WORD of LIFE is the stunning connection of the deepest and distant together with the most personal and immediate.
(2) What does one do with such information; with such an experience? Proclaim it. Don’t keep as a secret what was revealed. Reveal it more.
(3) The reason is that just as John and his friends were able to live connected to the transcendent and immanent, so can everyone who receives the message they proclaim and is brought into communion with the Father and the Son.
(4) A shared joy is a magnified joy.
(5) So, what is their message? God is totally good without bad.
(6) God plus a dark life does not add up. It is not a true life.
(7) Life in the essence of God is where we connect with others. The sacrificial death of Christ for our sins makes this possible
(8) The need for dealing with sin is a foundational truth we need to realize.
(9) Acknowledging our sins and sinfulness to Him is our way out of condemnation.
(10) Denial of our guilt accuses God and makes learning from Him impossible
1 John 2:1-29
(1) The point of the proclamation is to affect how we deal with sin. The goal is to avoid it and if necessary absolve it.
(2) Jesus Christ (the man who got life right) is the means of taking away God’s wrath at our sin, which if attached to us, means wrath towards us.
(3) Do we know the righteous man? Well, do we do what he says?
(4) e.g. “I know the righteous one, I just don’t do what he says” Nope. That one just does not get it.
(5) We need to actually do what he says, that is how God’s love grows in us and we have confidence about our faith. Without growing love from doing what he says no wonder people doubt their faith.
(6) IF I am IN HIM there should be some resemblance!
(7) So what is it that Jesus the righteous one said to do that John is now telling us to do? It is the same thing we have always heard.
(8) Still, there is a fresh angle to it in that Christ has lived it out for us and is making everything more clear.
(9) Enlightenment and contempt do not go together
(10) Valuing, loving other people (your brother) is living in enlightenment, and when you are enlightened, you can see where you are going and don’t need to be so worried about falling over things.
(11) But, if contempt is what you have for others, then you can’t see and you don’t know direction because darkness has blocked you.
(12) Again, the point is to make use of the forgiveness of our sins so that God’s name (Jesus=YHWH SAVES) will be honored
(13) Old guys are aware of the transcendent, young guys are focused on the immanent, kids feel the relationship
(14) Old guys are connected to him who is the source of all transcendence, lads are strong and active, living the word here and now.
(15) The cosmos and stuff in it are not to be loved (agape), that is not the Father’s agape and if you had the father’s agape you would not agape that stuff
(16) World=flesh desire, perception desire, pride desire, not from the Father.
(17) Cosmos will not last, nor will the desire thing. People who know and do God’s will remain.
(18) There is an antichrist after antichrists which shows the end is near
(19) Antichrists are people who abandon Christ and that shows they did not get it
(20) But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. The separated on has given you knowledge
(21) I am writing to help you focus on the truth you already have
(22) The lie is that Jesus is not enough, that Father and Son is not how it is
(23) There is no FATHER without the Son (and to have the Son is to have the Father)
(24) Grow in the basic start. The original message will keep you in the Son and Father
(25) Why? Eternal life is what the Son-Father promised.
(26) Watch out for people tricking you
(27) He gave you what you need and it is in you. Don’t be dependent on others teaching you. What has been poured into you is true and trustworthy. Listen to that and stay with Him
(28) So, stay in him and when He is finally shown fully we will not move away but towards
(29) When you think of him do you think “That’s Right!” If that is your value system in life you are His.
1 John 3:1-24
(1) God said we are his kids, because we are. The reason other people don’t see us this way is because they don’t know him.
(2) We are already God’s kids, but what that fully means is not yet revealed to us and won’t be until Christ shows up and we see him (and he is who we know we will be like).
(3) The hope of being like Christ motivates you to get on with cleaning yourself up to be clean and unmixed like him.
(4) The habit of ‘sin’ is the habit of not doing what you are designed and told to do. Sin=rebellion
(5) Christ came to take away rebellion, he is not a rebel
(6) You can’t abide, rest, exist in him and be a rebel at the same time. Defiant rebels have not seen or known him.
(7) Don’t be tricked, righteousness shows up in actions
(8) Active rebelling comes from the devil who has always been the rebelling. The Son of God came to put and end to the rebelliousness of the devil.
(9) If you are from God (born as his kid) you can’t persist in rebellion, it is not the nature in you that is from God.
(10) So, how do we distinguish God’s kids and the devil’s kids? See if the actually live out righteousness and love their brothers.
(11) The message from the start has been to actually love each other.
(12) Cain is not the example for us, he was evil and murdered his brother. He killed his brother because Cain was committed to evil actions and his brother to righteousness.
(13) So don’t be shocked that you meet people who hate you.
(14) Death is where there is no love, we know we have stepped out of that into life if we now are in fact loving.
(15) Hate your brother=murder. Murder?= no eternal life in him.
(16) How did he show he loved us? Gave his life. How do we love others? Give our lives.
(17) If love is giving our life but we won’t even give our $tuff, is it likely that God’s love matches that?
(18) Kids, come on, love isn’t just talk it is real and we do things.
(19) Actually living out love by sacrificial generosity reassures us inside our hearts
(20) God is greater than our hearts (which can put us down)
(21) But if even our own heart is not condemning us (we can have confidence there) then we can have confidence from God
(22) Since we have confidence because we are doing what he wants, we can ask and receive from him in the same way.
(23) So, what are we supposed to be doing? Trust in the NAME=Jesus and love each other like we were told.
(24) Do what he says, you are with him and him with you. His Spirit will let us know we are with him.
1 John 4:1-21
(1) Not every spirit or prophet is right.
(2) The transcendent became physically immanent in Jesus the Messiah is the test for any teaching/spirit
(3) Not with Jesus, not with God- This is the anti-Christ we warned about.
(4) Kids, God in you means you have won over them.
(5) This is their home territory, the fallen world, so they seem to fit
(6) People that belong to God get it when we explain and teach, that is how we see the difference in people.
(7) Our teaching is about effective love from God to one another,
(8) Knowing God means doing what is essential to him: love
(9) God’s love has shown up in Jesus as the way to life.
(10) Love is not us reaching to God, but God reaching to us in the real life and real death that really made it possible for us to relate to and love God.
(11) That example of Christ is what we should use for loving each other.
(12) We don’t see God who is love with our eyes, we need to love one another to have his love grow up in us so we can see him better.
(13) His spirit in us is how we know we are his.
(14) The apostles did see and say that Jesus is the one who came from God for the world.
(15) If you agree, you are with God.
(16) Again, love is where we meet God and others, that is where our confidence is.
(17) This confidence/faith is made sure when we are good at love and are therefore ready to meet him.
(18) We move from fear to love as we grow in love and grow away from the fear of judgment.
(19) Our love started with him.
(20) Loving God shows in loving people right in front of us.
(21) That is what God told us to do, love each other.
1 John 5:1-21
(1) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
(2) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
(3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
(4) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
(5) Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
(6) This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
(7) For there are three that testify:
(8) the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.
(9) If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
(10) Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
(11) And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
(12) Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
(13) I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
(14) And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
(15) And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
(16) If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life--to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
(17) All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
(18) We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
(19) We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
(20) And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
(21) Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sojos Christmas Worship
December 25, 2005. How shall we gather? A progressive dinner with carroling; a pot luck meal in a home; an evening woship time: a morning worship time; a Christmas Eve time? Post your preferences and lets get a sense of what would fit most people this year. As always, may God in Christ be your joy and hope.
December 18 at Hughes' House
Bring something to sit on for a shady worship outside the 4 walls of the house church! Dwayne will be teaching from 1 John and the church will finalize plans for Christmas Sunday.
A Brief Journey Through Romans
Paul said his hope in writing to, and ultimately visiting his Roman co-sojourners was that he might impart to them some spiritual gift to strengthen them-- that is, that they would be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. From faith to faith, we have been encouraged and strengthened by the letter he wrote and we have reflected on with one another.
Quite boldly, the challenge of holding together such different people as the church in Rome begins with a clarification of why God is angry with this world. Romans 1 shows a huge problem in the world. We push down the truth for doing wrong (suppress the truth in unrighteousness). That is a fundamental part of bad worship and bad living. We twist and pervert what is good and right because we cannot figure out how to receive it rightly and wisely.
Romans 2 helps to calm the rising pride of the religious people. They can get smug hearing about idolatry and immorality and show an undue superiority. The message in Romans 2: it is easier to say that suppressing the truth in unrighteousness is wrong than to actually live righteously under the truth.
Romans 3 sums it up nicely. Pagans, religious experts, drifters, ponderers... They have the same problem. They all suppress the truth. God is glorious and his way is life and right. We each and every one of us are less than we should be in wisdom and rightness. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. That is why God in man, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to save us from untruth and unrighteousness, and that by faith.
Romans 4 asks whether this is a new idea. How can we talk about faith (trust, confidence) in God and what he provides match up with the long history of God and his people? Abraham was the father of faith, and the point is well made. Before the law, blessing and the hope of all blessing was by faith.
Romans 5 draws the breadth of the circle of hope. If we were suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, and enemies of God (not even children of Abraham) is there any hope? A huge YES is given to show that even while we were against God, his very enemies regarding truth and rightness, God made it clear he loved us; he died for us. Our ancestor Adam shows how we fail in regard to truth and rightness, Jesus is offered as our new hope, the one who is Truth and Rightness, and who provides truth and rightness, and who makes it possible for us to live in truth and rightness.
So, if it is a gift, are we free to just party on without regard to truth and rightness? Romans 6 asks that question and resoundingly says Noooo. The gift is salvation from a failed life, not salvation from consequences so you can go on with a failed life. The pagans (gentiles) are urged not to go on with their old way plus Christ.
Romans 7 warns the carefully religious people (the Jews) not to make the same mistake. Adding Christ to a life of legalistic self justification doesn't make any more sense than adding to Christ to one's indulgent life.
Romans 8 shows the answer for Jews and gentiles, the careful and the carefree: keep in step with God's Spirit. That is the new life. It is hard but it is the life that works. Creation is groaning for humanity to no longer fall short of God's glory, we know we are (sickness, sadness, death and so on...). Even God's Spirit groans with us for the day that we will no longer suppress what is really true and live the way that is really right. Christ is that hope and that way, and we are assured we cannot be separated from within that love.
Romans 9 makes a point of preparing us for living that way. We must realize that God's mercy is totally without regard to any thing we offer. It is devastatingly humbling. In fact, it is almost depressing at first, like digging down in order to build a building up with a good foundation.
Romans 10 begins the building up by clarifying again that trust in the Lord is now and always has been the way of being saved from suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and having the hope of truth and rightness.
Romans 11 continues the foundation by showing how Israel has been foundational to the gentile hope and that God's plan is on schedule. In fact, though Paul makes it clear that the how and when of God's plan is not as clear as we would like, it is still marvelously and triumphantly better than anything we could dream up and worthy of our cheers and excitement.
Romans 12 now begins and emphasis on what to do: exchange humble submission to truth and rightness for the arrogance of insubordinate untruth and unrightness.
Romans 13 expands from personal challenges to social challenges and sums up with saying we are to be clothed in the light of the way of Christ; he is our light that shows us truth and rightness.
Romans 14 practically balances us as we are all trying to grow at the same time, though we have differences in where we are, what we understand, and how we are moving forward. Essentially, we have to find ways to look out for each others' good.
Romans 15 shows how Paul lived out his path of using his gifts and calling, and goes on to mention others. As each does their part, more and more people have a chance to take part in the life of light and hope found in Christ.
Romans 16 lists people who have come out from the way of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and are helping others to see truth and rightness. There is real love and affection and honor shown. Paul warns about letting cranky or controlling people ruin the community and encourages them to keep on the way the is right and true.
We are grateful to have taken these few months to be challenged to look at our tendencies to let our own desires dominate our wills such that we push down the truth (distort, rationalize, manipulate) so we can get what we want no matter what. It is not easy, especially the reflection on how humbly we must view ourselves. God did not have any cause to save us based on anything in us. His amazing love is in spite of us. When we get that, then humility and gratitude aren't so hard. The challenge then is to continually humble ourselves under truth for the sake of hope, enduring with joy, because we know our hope will not disappoint us.
Quite boldly, the challenge of holding together such different people as the church in Rome begins with a clarification of why God is angry with this world. Romans 1 shows a huge problem in the world. We push down the truth for doing wrong (suppress the truth in unrighteousness). That is a fundamental part of bad worship and bad living. We twist and pervert what is good and right because we cannot figure out how to receive it rightly and wisely.
Romans 2 helps to calm the rising pride of the religious people. They can get smug hearing about idolatry and immorality and show an undue superiority. The message in Romans 2: it is easier to say that suppressing the truth in unrighteousness is wrong than to actually live righteously under the truth.
Romans 3 sums it up nicely. Pagans, religious experts, drifters, ponderers... They have the same problem. They all suppress the truth. God is glorious and his way is life and right. We each and every one of us are less than we should be in wisdom and rightness. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. That is why God in man, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to save us from untruth and unrighteousness, and that by faith.
Romans 4 asks whether this is a new idea. How can we talk about faith (trust, confidence) in God and what he provides match up with the long history of God and his people? Abraham was the father of faith, and the point is well made. Before the law, blessing and the hope of all blessing was by faith.
Romans 5 draws the breadth of the circle of hope. If we were suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, and enemies of God (not even children of Abraham) is there any hope? A huge YES is given to show that even while we were against God, his very enemies regarding truth and rightness, God made it clear he loved us; he died for us. Our ancestor Adam shows how we fail in regard to truth and rightness, Jesus is offered as our new hope, the one who is Truth and Rightness, and who provides truth and rightness, and who makes it possible for us to live in truth and rightness.
So, if it is a gift, are we free to just party on without regard to truth and rightness? Romans 6 asks that question and resoundingly says Noooo. The gift is salvation from a failed life, not salvation from consequences so you can go on with a failed life. The pagans (gentiles) are urged not to go on with their old way plus Christ.
Romans 7 warns the carefully religious people (the Jews) not to make the same mistake. Adding Christ to a life of legalistic self justification doesn't make any more sense than adding to Christ to one's indulgent life.
Romans 8 shows the answer for Jews and gentiles, the careful and the carefree: keep in step with God's Spirit. That is the new life. It is hard but it is the life that works. Creation is groaning for humanity to no longer fall short of God's glory, we know we are (sickness, sadness, death and so on...). Even God's Spirit groans with us for the day that we will no longer suppress what is really true and live the way that is really right. Christ is that hope and that way, and we are assured we cannot be separated from within that love.
Romans 9 makes a point of preparing us for living that way. We must realize that God's mercy is totally without regard to any thing we offer. It is devastatingly humbling. In fact, it is almost depressing at first, like digging down in order to build a building up with a good foundation.
Romans 10 begins the building up by clarifying again that trust in the Lord is now and always has been the way of being saved from suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and having the hope of truth and rightness.
Romans 11 continues the foundation by showing how Israel has been foundational to the gentile hope and that God's plan is on schedule. In fact, though Paul makes it clear that the how and when of God's plan is not as clear as we would like, it is still marvelously and triumphantly better than anything we could dream up and worthy of our cheers and excitement.
Romans 12 now begins and emphasis on what to do: exchange humble submission to truth and rightness for the arrogance of insubordinate untruth and unrightness.
Romans 13 expands from personal challenges to social challenges and sums up with saying we are to be clothed in the light of the way of Christ; he is our light that shows us truth and rightness.
Romans 14 practically balances us as we are all trying to grow at the same time, though we have differences in where we are, what we understand, and how we are moving forward. Essentially, we have to find ways to look out for each others' good.
Romans 15 shows how Paul lived out his path of using his gifts and calling, and goes on to mention others. As each does their part, more and more people have a chance to take part in the life of light and hope found in Christ.
Romans 16 lists people who have come out from the way of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness and are helping others to see truth and rightness. There is real love and affection and honor shown. Paul warns about letting cranky or controlling people ruin the community and encourages them to keep on the way the is right and true.
We are grateful to have taken these few months to be challenged to look at our tendencies to let our own desires dominate our wills such that we push down the truth (distort, rationalize, manipulate) so we can get what we want no matter what. It is not easy, especially the reflection on how humbly we must view ourselves. God did not have any cause to save us based on anything in us. His amazing love is in spite of us. When we get that, then humility and gratitude aren't so hard. The challenge then is to continually humble ourselves under truth for the sake of hope, enduring with joy, because we know our hope will not disappoint us.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Thanksgiving Gathering
Thanks to Tamara and all the others who helped provide an extra Thanksgiving meal. Next Sunday will be the Harbisons'. We will be looking at what practical challenges happen in a Christian community when we are trying to live out the types of submission found in Romans 12 and 13. Though we are all growing into the image of Christ, we are each in different phases of our unique journeys. This can make understanding and cooperating with other Christians unexpectedly challenging. Our goal will be to share with each other our present challenges with a hope to applying scriptual principles to future challenges.
Shalom, Russell
Shalom, Russell
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Submitting to God’s Order
- Submit your body and mind in order to know God’s will (Romans 12:1-2)
- submit to your God given gifting and area of trust (12:3-8)
- submit your service to the test of love, not of significance (12:9-16)
- submit your hardships from others to God; its his job, not yours. (12:17-20)
- submit to authorities as God’s system for civil society (13:1-7)
- submit to obligations, especially to live by Love (13:8-10)
- submit to Christ as life, not cravings, then you don’t hide, you radiate (13:11-14)
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