Posted by Chris on October 18, 2009 under Sermons
In the ministry of Jesus and in the first century church, people experienced God’s healing.
Luke 4:18-21 … “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
Acts 3:6 — But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Healing continues in the church. In the name of Jesus, his disciples continue this ministry in his name and with his presence.
- It’s too bad that charlatans kept us from recognizing the importance of the work of healing in Christ’s name (Acts 7 – Simon the Magician)
- “We don’t want people to think we’re faith-healers.” Those faith-healers also preach in suits and ties. Do we stop preaching? If we stopped preaching and teaching because of bad preaching and teaching, that would be sorry. So let’s not stop healing because of a few eccentrics.
- Let’s expand our definition of healing and mission … it’s not just miraculous. Healing wasn’t the only focus of the miracles. It was a sign that the kingdom of heaven – a new reign – was breaking into our world. And that’s still the case today.
- You do not have to be in the medical, science field to participate in God’s work of healing.
- Body and Spirit are both the domain of the kingdom of God
- We do not command God’s power to heal. Even Jesus was limited in his power to heal. But likewise we cannot say that our faith is proportionate to our experience of healing. Once again, that is trying to command God’s power.
- Death has ultimately been conquered. The resurrection is God’s sign that all disease and death will ultimately be undone – that is his will. As Jesus said, we have experienced God’s favor in Him.
I don’t think we’ve truly left healing in the past as some odd artifact of a legendary age. Look at our prayer list. That’s a witness to our hope and faith that God heals. But how wide and how broad is our understanding of God’s healing power – the in-breaking of the kingdom?
All sorts of healing … James 5:13-18
- James is an early word from the Christian community. He seems to assume that there are godly responses to disease and sickness – and even sadness and sin. And he doesn’t chop these up into separate concerns.
- I find it humorous that “medical science” begins to accept that these issues are related. Thank God for physicians and counselors who administer wisdom and learning in combination with God’s principles.
- Christian leaders in ages past (including James) understood how sin, sadness, and sickness, and faith were intertwined and they prescribed treatments for the whole experience of illness and wellness.
- But please note: This can sound a lot like new age medicine or therapy that has no relationship or reliance to God’s Spirit whatsoever. Thos views are not wholly wrong, but they are missing the vital core of healing. James, Jesus, and the witness of Scripture always place God and his Spirit at the center of healing.
Some practical responses for the church …
- Stress, mental illness, depression, addiction – We have got to stop saying that these are not real. They may be difficult to understand and perhaps even debatable, but they are real. Whether we attribute it to an evil spirit, or brain chemistry, or a bad day – it is real. But it is also all within the power of God to manage. Honestly, is God anymore threatened by a demon than he is by serotonin levels?
- We also need to get beyond the unnecessary burden of shame that surrounds issues such as these and addiction. Do we speak the language of shame or the language of healing? “Wait, isn’t this enabling the problem?” Not at all. Was Jesus enabling the Legion of demons that possessed the Gerasene man when he asked their name? In ages past, Christians understood that naming a problem (or a force or a demon) was a way of overcoming it. Just as a diagnosis can be a first step to treatment, naming problems gives us the “handle” on them that we need so that we can place it in God’s care.
- Challenge to the church: Let’s stop being afraid of sickness and sadness. Let’s stop being afraid of the “sinners in our midst” and let us not be afraid to name truth and humbly work within God’s healing power to overcome them.
- Being a community of truth doesn’t simply mean that we hold all the right doctrinal positions. It means that we are authentic and we can speak truthfully to one another. We tell the truth about ourselves and one another and we speak God’s truth. The powers of addiction, depression, stress, and sin are fueled by lies. James is calling the church to speak the truth in song, prayer, and confession.
- We have got to stop despising weakness. Our culture glories in youth, strength, and power.
- This is why health care is such a major concern in our nation. On a big scale, we bought into the modern idea that through our own resources we can create a world in which no one gets sick and no one dies. It is the serpent’s lie that convinces us that we are no good if we are weak. It is the serpent’s lie that convinces us that we are less human if we are weak or sick.
- Let the church be a family in which our value is NOT determined by how healthy we are. I know that we find it hard to share our weaknesses (physical and otherwise) because we are afraid that others will treat us differently. We don’t want to be pitied. And in church we should not be pitied. (Rose prayed for me and my mom).
- Pain and weakness are not a sign of God’s disfavor. Tragedy and suffering is not a sign of God’s abandonment. (John 8) Nor is God always trying to teach us something. Sometimes we tell people who’ve experienced a horrible situation – “What is God trying to teach you.” Maybe God is trying to teach us (the questioners) something. Honestly, how often do we pray for people and want others to be well because we aren’t sure that we can bear their brokenness?
- We rejoice with those who rejoice and we suffer with those who suffer – but all have the same worth for all are created in God’s image. Think of how much healing would take place if we adopted this belief and practiced this belief more.
- We can show dignity and respect the humanity of one another (Mark 10) – Jesus asks the blind man “What do you want me to do for you?”
- Let’s be serious about healing the sickness of sin. Some of us feel illness in our mind, our heart, our bodies because of sin and broken relationships.
- Man goes to doctor and says, “It hurts when I lift my arm like this.” … Stop hurting yourselves.
- Do you need to reconcile with others? There is so much pain in our relationships with one another and the spirit of God can heal it. “But that’s not easy.” No, in fact Scripture says 1) it is hard, and 2) you need to do it.
- Do you need to reconcile with God? Maybe you need to have it out with God. Go ahead. But you will never be healed and whole if you do nothing.
Thomas Aquinas went to visit Pope Innocent IV. Aquinas was amazed at the trappings of wealth, gold and treasures. So the Pope commented to Aquinas, “Well, Thomas, I suppose the church cannot say as Peter did, ‘Silver and Gold have I none.'” Aquinas replied, “True, Your Excellency, but neither can we say, ‘Arise and walk.'”
What’s our message? Can we say “Arise and Walk”? Are we willing to be so bold? Is our faith in our own resources (silver, gold, science, human effort) or in the Spirit of God? Let’s be agents of God’s healing in God’s ways …
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
Our relationship with God is a faith relationship. We relate because we trust each other. Satan constantly tests and tries the quality of our trust.
“Wait a minute! I understand that we must trust God, but God trusting us sounds strange!” We generally refer to our trust as obedience (we do His will), though there are times when trusting God requires no specific act (such as believing God is there, God creates within us, God forgives an evil action, God keeps all His promises, etc.)
Yet, God also trusts us! He trusts us with His name, His reputation, His message, His will, etc. Those are not small things! Paul once wrote to some who claimed to represent God, “For THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written. (Romans 2:24, NASV) It is an enormous matter to suggest God says when actually we say, or to suggest, “This is God’s way!” when actually it is our way. To claim to represent God when we actually represent our desires is a huge mistake! Beware of willfully harming God’s reputation!
One of many ways we declare confidence in God is to trust that God knows how to care for us in each situation. That is not a simple confidence to have! As long as God physically cares for us in the way we wish to be cared for, it is easy to trust God-like a child trusting a parent. However, that is an extremely complex trust! (1) Do I trust God to seek my highest good when I do not physically wish to go there? (2) Do I trust God to care for me when I suffer because of the consequences of others’ mistakes? (3) Do I really trust that spiritual realities are above physical realties? (4) What if my trust in God results in physical suffering? (5) What if I do not understand how what is happening is in my best interest? (6) What if I see ungodly people physically better off than I am?
“Thank you, God, for Jesus! No one at Jesus’ cross thought You were winning! Yet, You took a death on a cross and made a Savior for us! Help me look, reflect, and trust!”
Posted by Chris on October 11, 2009 under Sermons
2 Samuel 12:11-12
“Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes …”
“… and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.”
Wise Woman of Tekoa
King David
Layers of Story
- WOMAN of TEKOA
- DAVID and ABSALOM
- GOD and HUMANITY
David’s Option
- Bring Absalom back to his land and house
- David will not meet with him – loss of favor
- Absalom resents this
Absalom’s Rebellion
- Absalom believes he is just
- David and his people go into exile
- Absalom follows shrewd advisors (16:21-23)
Absalom’s Capture (18)
- David orders Absalom to be spared
- Joab executes Absalom
- David mourns – depression
- David returns to Jerusalem – forgives (19)
Parable of Father and Sons
- Family or Justice
- Reconciliation or Destruction
- The Way of Jesus
Three Layers of the Parable
- Woman and her sons (parable)
- David and Absalom
- God and Us
- The Need for Reconciliation
Posted by Chris on under Sermons
If we are going to talk about mission, then we need to look at Luke 10.
- Jesus sent his disciples out to preach and proclaim the kingdom of God
- It was risky
- They relied on God’s spirit and maybe help from others
We often compare Jesus to a preacher, but what if he’s more like a youth minister?
- How old are these disciples? Some of them are probably in their teens.
- Some of them leave their parents behind
- Jesus was the traditional age to go into ministry (age 30, so we believe)
- Jesus wasn’t the approved age for a pulpit minister (35-45, married w/kids, 10 years exp.)
- These disciples were considered unlearned, bumpkins, zealots, rough
The Report of the 72 who were sent:
- Evil was sent running, and we didn’t even count on that!
- The defeat of evil is exactly what the mission is all about.
- Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning!”
Jesus’ response to the report
- Jesus rejoices!
- What is it that fills Jesus with joy?
- God has revealed the power of the kingdom to “little children.”
- Not the wise, the learned, the experts, the powerful, the mature, but to little children!
Why little children?
“Star Wars” (1977) – It revolutionized pop culture. After 1977, movies and TV changed. Merchandising became big business. No one saw this coming because Star Wars was considered a “kid’s film.” Even most of the people working on it thought it was a children’s film with robots, shaggy monsters and dark villains.
But the film was popular with more than just children and it has remained popular for over 30 years. Why? Maybe because this film touched on our very basic hopes to see evil defeated and good triumph. Something that we understand as kids.
What was it like before 1977? It was the same. We still believed in good and evil and heroic deeds, adventures to save the princess, the power of evil. It’s just that Lucasfilm figured out a great way to package that and market it.
How did the church lose its child-like imagination? How did we lose our basic belief and hope in the struggle between good and evil and the faith that good always wins?
- Maybe we’ve been too jaded by a cynical world
- Maybe we got involved in so many busy activities
- So many programs and preparations
We need to recover the imagination. We need to have the same imagination and child-like faith that sees simple acts and adventures of mission that knock Satan off his feet. We need to view the world again as a field where good and evil struggle. We need to rejoice that our names are written in heaven – not because God’s keeping score or because we want Jesus to save us a seat, but because God knows that he has some agents down here that he can call on when there’s a mission.
But we’ve all gotten tired and bored! We have become so busy! And it has made us bitter and proud!
Mary and Martha (Luke 10)
- Mary is captivated, but Martha is busy.
- At least Martha is inviting Jesus to hospitality. If it were left up to Mary it would never had been done!
- Jesus explains to Martha that she only needs one thing. Why doesn’t he tell her what the one thing is? Because if he did then she would work on it the same way she was working at hospitality. She would wear herself out, upset everyone else and get upset with everyone else. Even with the one thing, she would get bitter and burdened with responsibility.
- Let’s believe again that the world really can change – otherwise, why do we have a mission?
- Let’s believe again that demons and evil can be sent running and that Satan (the dark villain) has fallen from the sky like lightning.
- Let’s believe again that good wins out and let’s pledge to be on the winning side.
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
When the Christ-followers began in Acts 2, this movement began with a “bang”! Peter spoke to a huge, religious, Jerusalem crowd confirming that God raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord. Some 3,000 responded, and the unconquerable movement began. These early converts in Jerusalem were certain that nothing could stop them!
At first, opposition cooperated. The movement diversified. Being godly involved more than believing God raised Jesus. Local congregations had problems. Jobs were lost. Christ-followers were arrested and killed. Christianity was ultimately unpopular!
A movement that began with a “bang” in Acts 2 staggered badly in Asia Minor in Revelation. A movement that seemed destined for greatness in Acts 2 struggled for survival in the times of Revelation. John wrote, “God in Christ won the victory! All you need to do is endure!”
In this country’s southern region, we often enjoyed convenience. Prosperity allowed us to build and maintain buildings, to produce and sustain programs, to have incredible outreaches, to acquire staffs, and to dream dreams that early members never imagined. Though there were struggles, often it was “convenient to struggle.”
Times ahead may not be convenient. This may be one of those strange periods when opportunity is abundant, but funding is restrictive. Convenience can be like an unneeded narcotic. If taken from us, we struggle-did convenience control our actions, or did faith control our actions? Did we function as we do because of convenience or because Jesus is Lord? Is existence about lifestyle, or is existence about eternity?
In these difficult times, may we encourage each other. May we support faith in each other. May we be a people of faith regardless of circumstances. May we attack hardship and uncertainty with faith. May we never worship the god of convenience! May Jesus Christ alone be our Lord-in all challenges and all circumstances! “Now” is not eternity!
Posted by David on October 4, 2009 under Bulletin Articles
When Paul penned those words, the Roman Empire was unsympathetic to Christianity. The predominant form of religion was some expression of idolatry. A common thing binding most idolatrous religions was a polytheistic thrust. Most forms of idolatry did not care how many gods a person worshipped. Worship of one idol did not exclude other idols. Thus doing good to “all men” included kindness, thoughtfulness, and helpfulness to people who worshipped idols. One principle of faith in Jesus Christ was defeating evil by doing good instead of by vengeance (Romans 12:17-21).
Christians were strange! The Roman Empire valued force! Defeat enemies by using force! The surrender of a defeated enemy was a wonderful thing! Doing good sought a willful cooperation; defeat sought an unwilling subjugation.
Christians were weird! Christians-slave or wealthy-regarded all who believed in Jesus as family! All believers were God’s family! Love motivated them to care for each other and those who did not believe. They threatened no one. One who included himself or herself in their ranks did so by personal choice. Anyone could belong. All, regardless of background, could be one of them. Though they believed in one God, they were kind to those who believed in many gods. Their morality was the weirdest known in that world!
Last Sunday was “Blue Jeans Sunday.” All colors of denim in all forms were worn-skirts, jeans, overalls, and jackets. The objective: to emphasize the biblical connection between worship and service. Between 200 and 250 served that afternoon. Cards were written, vans cleaned, linens at CURE folded, toys prepared for give away, quilts for earthquake victims in China made, and over 700 pairs of jeans collected for and delivered to the Hope Chest. There was a campus prayer walk, the yard of the new Lions For Christ house received massive help, and equipment manned-chain saws, a chipper, and a tractor with sweaty people dragging brush. When the day ended in a fellowship meal, the FULL price of the new property was contributed. God was honored, people were served, and we felt His life in us. We worked and gave to benefit people we have yet to meet! Young and old, different races, men and women worked side by side. We all were just Christians! God was glorified as we rediscovered the joys of Christian service.
Posted by Chris on September 27, 2009 under Sermons
Reflection #1: University Church of Christ circa 1991.
There was a similar event every year at University Church of Christ in Abilene. At that event we just collected blue jeans. I recall as a young man how our preacher, Eddie Sharp, would come dressed in blue jeans and take his place at the austere pulpit in University’s old cathedral like worship center. It seemed wonderfully out of place. Here was this man in work clothes invading the holy arena of the pulpit.
But the impression was a positive one. It formed in me the notion that who I was on Monday-Saturday had to do with who I was on Sunday. It brought my worship life and my work life together. It made me realize that before God there was no casual side and formal side. It let me know that Sunday morning was not an isolated, restricted compartment to my life. I was shaped by that experience and I began to think of faith as something that had to do with action and service.
Reflection #2: How This Started.
Blue Jeans Sunday isn’t my idea. Not really. It isn’t anyone’s idea. It is a spirit. It is an emerging reality. Dare we say that God’s Spirit might have something to do with it? Let’s see, but if the events of today and the spirit that follows is anything like the growth leading up to this, then we all ought to be thrilled.
To start with, there was some discussion about how the Hope Chest needed donations of Blue Jeans before school started. A vague recollection of University collecting jeans made Karen and me think about that event and talking about it created some interest.
We put the event off (it was going to be “Jeans in July”). The Hope Chest board starting thinking about it, and they began to see the possibility of not just collecting jeans, but welcoming people to help stock them. And then the possibility of other work projects came to mind. Then someone suggested wearing blue jeans so we could work. And then it was suggested that the elders definitely should wear Blue Jeans. And this wonderful energy and creativity began to swell up. The sort of energy you encounter when people get interested in what God can do. And now the event really isn’t over. It will keep going beyond this day.
Reflection on Preaching
The jeans I am wearing today are the jeans I wore everyday at the worksite during our mission to Mexico. The joke on that trip was that I wasn’t “the preacher” that week. I was just a rebar-cutting, nail-pulling, wood-hauling worker. After all, what kind of preacher wears dirty jeans and a sweaty T-shirt? If I might differ, I humbly suggest that I did preach that week. Maybe I didn’t use words, but the actions preached and they served God’s purposes. Our work is also the kingdom of God.
There are so many of you here who are talented in so many types of works. I hope you regard your skills and service as valuable to the kingdom. Don’t bury those talents. Don’t disregard them. And certainly don’t be lazy in the kingdom of God – the mission is too important.
Reflection #4: Created to Do Good Works
What were you baptized for? Salvation, right? But what does it means to be saved? You were saved to do good works. Your baptism was your ordination to do good works. Work out your salvation. That doesn’t mean work for it. It means put it into action.
As you go along. Today we are aware of our mission and next month we will start praying for our mission works. The great commission of Jesus isn’t really “Go Ye.” That’s a bad translation. A better translation is “As you go on your way, make disciples.” We’ve focused on the GO part to the neglect of making disciples. And that has caused us to neglect being disciples. So missionaries and evangelists are the only ones who go. But that’s not what it means to follow Jesus. Being a disciple means baptizing and teaching as you go on your way.
As you go on your way today, you are going out to participate in good works. Those good works are works that glorify God, so that means that they worship him. As you go out today on your way you are going out there to find Jesus and join in with what he’s doing.
I want you to realize that when you are cutting branches over here, that you are worshipping God. Every sentence you write with a pen [on a greeting card] is worship to God. Every step of the walk [on campus] and every breath of prayer are worshipping God. Every box you move, every shelf you stack, every tire you wash worships God if you offer that as a joyous sacrifice to him and surrender it to his purposes. How is it worship? I’m glad you asked …
Reflection #5: Worship is Moving
Worship is active. It is a verb. One of the oldest definitions of worship is “the work of the people.” We can get so focused on worship being about us and serving our members. We can make our preferences the measuring stick of worship. We can come to the assembly and sit and wait for something we can get out of it.
I love the song that I learned on a mission trip to the Caribbean so many years ago. They sing, “You’ve got to move, you got to move – when my Lord he gets ready, you got to move!” And then they add in verbs … “You’ve got to preach.” “You’ve got to pray,” etc.
In most places in the world and throughout history, worship is much more active than we often regard it. The people don’t just sit. They gather. They bring the bread and wine. They serve it. They wait on tables. They talk to one another. They stand and sing. It’s not about being entertained; it’s about the work of God’s Spirit motivating people to do right.
We talk about a living God. Paul said that “In God we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28.) He was trying to translate the living reality of God to a bunch of philosophers in Athens who thought that God was far away. He was quoting their own philosophers. Intellectually, Paul was dressing up in such a way that he could relate to the world around him.
God is active and our world needs to see that. Now I ask you, how can we sit around idly and lazily in the presence of such a God? We ought to at least jump off our pew and bow down, yes?
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
… For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However, not all men have this knowledge … (1 Corinthians 8:5-7, NASV)
Begin by reading Romans 14:1-12, 15:1-3, and 1 Corinthians 8. All this was written because Christians were confronting Christians in regard to proper worship practices.
Worship backgrounds in the first century differed with today’s Christian worship backgrounds. Then, whether Jewish or idolatrous, worship often involved a sacrifice, eating part of the sacrifice, and sharing the meal. Both the eating and the sharing were regarded to be worship acts (remember the Passover and the Lord’s Supper). Worship often involved feasting-sharing the sacrifice and the feast honored the god.
An argument erupted among Christians (imagine that!). Some were vegetarians because market meat may have been offered to an idol. Those understanding the concept of 1 Timothy 4:1-5 said a Christian could eat anything anywhere if God the Creator was thanked. Meat, sacred days, and other practices considered worship acts were involved.
Paul declared Christians could come to opposite conclusions in pursuit of the same objective. So, regardless of the conclusion reached, realize you all are servants of the Master. Servants serve. They do not judge fellow servants. Only the Master judges. Thus, each of you be ready to explain to God your motives and acts.
Then Paul said something quite contrary to many of our conclusions. God can and will cause Christians reaching opposite conclusions to stand in His approval. Each Christian has two responsibilities: (1) remember you are a servant, and (2) do not judge the religious convictions of another Christian.
Posted by Chris on September 20, 2009 under Sermons
Read Acts 6.
The first church conflict …
The Work of the 12
- Ministry of the Word (Apostles Teaching)
- Ministry of Prayer
- Ministry of Tables – (Service is a form of worship)
Faced With Problems – Why do they have problems? Why the conflict?
- Growth – The community is growing larger and the challenges of sustaining are getting tougher. Growth causes the groups to grow anxious.
- Culture Clash – Add to this anxiety the problem of cultural differences. All of these believers are Jews, but they have grown up over the generations in different cultures. The Hellenists are influenced by Greek culture, the Hebraic Jews have grown up in their homeland and preserved the old paths. Hellenistic/Greek believers would have grown up with a different language and a different outlook. They would have been accepting of cultural differences that the Hebraic believers would not. The Hebraic Jews probably looked down on the Hellenistic Jews because they believed that they were compromisers. The Hellenistic Jews probably considered the Hebraic Jews as backwards and odd.
- Need for Resources
- Why are the Hellenistic widows being overlooked? Maybe the Hellenistic believers aren’t giving like they should. If there was an abundance, then no one would be overlooked. This isn’t a managerial, administration issue. The problem isn’t in the delivery. It may be on the collection side. Leaders among the Greeks are needed to inspire sharing.
Arriving at a Solution
- Sharing Leadership – The 12 are not anxious leaders. They know that the church belongs to God and that Christ is completely in charge. So, the Holy Spirit appoints leaders (they’ve already tested that in Chap 1)
- Empowering Service – They are able to share their leadership. Moses shared leadership with judges. The kings of Israel were appointed by God’s spirit. Prophets were empowered to speak according to God’s spirit. Why do we assume its any different with the church?
- Giving Authority
- The 12 trust the 7. They share authority with them
- All authority in the church is in Christ. All authority is shared authority. This is God’s church.
- Authority is not a choke chain that reels the 7 in when they make a mistake. They are not holding a paycheck or excommunication over the head of these men.
Criteria for Leaders – So who do you give authority to?
- Holy Spirit
- Wisdom
The criteria are not men who have experience in food service. They do not need to be men who have been successful in their business and careers. They need to be people who are caught up in the spirit of God that has been the mark of leaders in the last 5 chapters. The fruit of the spirit will be obvious in their lives.
Also, they need wisdom – wisdom is a quality that has to do with doing the right thing. It is discernment. It’s different than simply keeping rules, holding to tradition (the way its always been done), or following policy (sheepwalking).
- It means understanding what’s really going. Wisdom = leading people to be more like Christ and do the right thing.
- Jesus had wisdom from God. He did the appropriate thing and the right thing. It didn’t always meet expectations of the hierarchy, the leaders of Israel or the religious elite, or the traditional. But it was rooted in God’s ancient wisdom.
Leadership …
There are not slots and stations in the church (i.e. a corporation or the military) One can move up when a slot comes open. These are organizations that focus on rank and function. The job is more important than the mission. One fills a slot (featherbedding). Different sorts of leaders are needed depending on the mission and the church is allowed the creativity to shape leadership to a certain degree to accomplish the mission. No, you do not need a pulpit minister to accomplish the mission. But as long as you do have one, then the goal must be to accomplish God’s mission. Not just to fulfill a set of tasks. There is a ministry of the word and a ministry of prayer and a ministry of service. Who does it and in what capacity is an open matter.
Outcome
- Unity — Unity is not simply making people happy. It is moving them through anxiety to God’s peace. Unity can be hard work. It doesn’t mean everyone agrees about every detail, but it does mean that there is respect rooted in the holiness of God. It doesn’t mean that there are never problems or conflicts, but it does mean that we believe in proposals that can benefit everyone and bring glory to God. (Rather than the “my way or I’m hitting the highway” attitude – they are not church customers. They are unified)
- More Growth – Notice that more people are being added to the church. That’s God’s work. When God sees a body of believers who can empower leaders who are wise and full of the holy spirit, when God recognizes a group that cares for one another and can work out problems, then he trusts them with “his kids.”
- Who do we trust with our kids?
- Who do we trust with our pets?
- More Leadership – The 7 are committed to the ministry of the table and they end up doing word and prayer. I think the 12 also served on tables, too.
- More Service – More leadership means more service (John 13) – the leader serves. If you serve, then you are a leader. You are teaching others.
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
The first-century Roman Empire was quite different from our society. The church began as completely Jewish. Later it was a mix of Jews and converted idol worshippers. By the end of the first century it was mostly converted idol worshippers.
Poor people, by far, were the largest group in society. The middle class barely existed, and the rich were a small part of society.
There was enormous concern that Christianity (the church) not discriminate against the poor. The obstacles faced by the poor were enormous without enduring spiritual discrimination! James 2:1-9 declared Christian assemblies should make the poor feel welcomed and appreciated. Prosperous visitors were not to be favored. 1 Timothy 2:8-10 suggested prosperous Christians should not declare by dress or jewelry that godliness depended on what the person wore.
Remember there were no weekends then as today. Sunday likely began the work week in Jewish society, and probably was just another day for all non-Jewish people (the majority). That would mean Christians assembled early before work or late after work. The poor and the slave probably came to Christian assemblies in work clothes.
James 2:1-9 and 1 Timothy 2:8-10 often are used to suggest that today’s Christian assemblies never be used to make the disadvantaged feel out of place or be used to display prosperity. Wearing work clothing shows no disrespect to God, but champions God’s values of not showing favoritism to prosperity at the expense of the disadvantaged.
Again, unity is not a matter of Christian agreement, but of Christian-to-Christian respect.
