Paul continues his 2nd missionary journey, and travels to Athens, the birthplace of modern western thought and democracy. In a proud city of extraordinary architecture, art, and culture – one designed to display its great history, people, and ideas, Paul becomes “greatly distressed” by what he observes – in a way reminiscent of God himself, whenever God-given artistry and ability is not attributed and celebrated as grace and gifts from him alone. Since Paul has been transformed by Jesus himself, he is able to deeply understand Athens, and at the same time love Athens with the love of Jesus himself. In so doing, he gives us a clear example of how to engage in our highly nuanced, pluralist culture… blank Starbucks holiday cups and all.
"love neighbor" Tagged Sermons (Page 2)
King Jesus was born in Bethlehem not Rome. His arrival in this small unnoticed town demonstrates that our king came to shunned places and overlooked people in order to be with and exalt them. Do you ever doubt God’s presence and love? This 4th week of Advent be encouraged, Jesus has come to be with YOU! Do you know someone who is…
In this 3rd week of Advent we consider, “What is it we are waiting for?” In other words, what is God’s vision for the future? Jesus and the whole Bible reveal that God’s vision for the future is a second advent of Christ followed by a renewed cosmos free from destruction, racial division, injustice and everything else that disrupts the harmony that once existed in Eden. Once this picture becomes clearer a second question must be addressed, “In light of this hope, how shall we now live?” This week we hear God’s invitation for us is to participate in making earth look more like Heaven while we anticipate Christ’s 2nd advent after which He will make all things new.
Having invested the past 12 weeks growing as disciples who love God, one another and our neighbors, we now transition to Advent. “Advent” means “coming” and it has become a term to describe the 4 Sundays that precede Christmas in which God’s people celebrate Jesus’ first coming in Bethlehem as well as His second coming which we await. In this first Sunday of Advent, just before the busy month of December begins, we exalt Christ who declared during his first advent, “Come to me … and I will give you rest.” In Christ we have rest with God and rest within ourselves so that we may accurately represent our King Jesus as faithful ambassadors in this restless world.
Having just spent 2 weeks on what it means to be messengers of the euangelion, we now turn to what it looks like to live out the gospel. Is it ever difficult for you to connect your life inside the church building to the life outside it? Do the truths you sing of in the “embassy” seem less true when you’re not…
We as Christians often have a hard time sharing the “good news,” for a mix of 3 reasons: First, we’re not really that compelled; second, we’re afraid; and third, we don’t really know how. As ambassadors of God’s peace treaty with the world, we need to be sure we (1) understand its significance, (2) understand our cultural context, and (3) are equipped with a clear “reason for the hope that we have.” It turns out, our culture is very open to dialogue on spiritual things, and the lack of sharing has more to do with our own discomfort than a lack of opportunity. When we share “with gentleness and respect,” what follows can be a beautiful, engaging conversation with our neighbors. We have to get the shape of the gospel right. James Choung’s tool, Big Story, from his book True Story, gives us one example of a holistic Christian worldview that’s theologically grounded and starts with finding common ground with our culture, through drawing 4 simple circles.
What exactly is “Christian Mission”? When we talk about the whole church, taking the whole gospel, to the whole world, what do we mean? Often, Christians think evangelism is something other people do. But what is the origination of that word, and what, exactly, is the content of our “evangelism”? We need to be reminded of what Jesus himself declared to be “the gospel,” and how that understanding was clarified by Paul in his writings to the early church. We also need to understand our neighbors. When we have clarity about what it means to be an ambassador for Christ, and clarity about who we’re being an ambassador to, it will give us joy to share the good news in ways that truly “love our neighbor.”
Today’s service focuses on praising God for inviting ordinary people to join Him in bringing His love to people of every nation until His vision to be glorified throughout the whole earth is fulfilled. We are grateful for and extend a loving welcome to Don and Janet Guizzetti, as well as some of our teens, for joining us today, modeling this way of life and reminding us of this beautiful reality during our service today.
The Prodigal Son just may be the best short story ever told. It’s incredibly concise, yet has both deep sorrow and joy in the midst of scandal and strained relationships. As we look at each of the story’s three characters in succession, it’s obvious that the one thing even more extravagant than the younger son’s self-indulgence, is the Father’s self-sacrificing love. Yet it’s all lost on the older son at the end of the story, and his reaction exposes our tendency to…
Do you ever get frustrated with God because He doesn’t work in ways you think He should? Do you ever wish God would do more to remove evil and darkness as well as violent and evil doers? If so, you are not alone. Apparently Jesus’ first followers felt this way as well. In this 2nd message from the parables of Jesus we discover what Jesus knew about God’s wise, though perplexing, plan as well as His extravagant patience in carrying it out.