SUNDAY RECAP 01.29.12

01/31/2012

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Last Sunday we wrapped up our teaching series, "4 Ways to Live Like Jesus."
If you missed a week of the series or want to review a teaching, click here to listen to the podcast.

Over the past few weeks, we've shared that living like Jesus requires:
1. Courageous, faith-driven obedience with the resources you have
2. Existing for the mission of Jesus to seek and save those who are lost
3. Living in a sharing community where your life, faith and mission are relationally and spiritually connected to others

This week we examined our fourth area: the public ministry of Jesus.
Life in the public eye is stressful and oppressive - and those negative elements can create negative responses in us such as fear of people, paranoia and anxiety concerning other's agendas/interests, and even situations where those close to us fail us or betray us. How did Jesus deal with all that in his public ministry?

1. Jesus put his trust in the love and approval of the Father:
* He began his ministry hearing the Father's words, "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased." When we begin to fear and panic, it is important to remember that God the Father is pleased with us and supports us.

2. Jesus knew that people were not the real enemy:
* Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encountered opposition - and He knew the hearts and motivations of those opposing him. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we do not fight against "flesh and blood" but against the "powers of the air."

3. Jesus stayed connected to community and to the Father:
* Opposition and pressure can often cause us to isolate ourselves; they can trigger our self-preservation mechanisms. Jesus - knowing that he would be betrayed - connected himself to his friends at the Last Supper and to His Father in the Garden of Gethsamene.

Music from Sunday was led by Chris Donahue and Travis Jarrett
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SUNDAY RECAP 11.27.11

11/30/2011

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Last Sunday began one of my favorite times of year - Advent, the celebration of the Incarnation of the Christ. Over the next 40 days, we will turn our focus and spiritual rhythm to the anticipation of Jesus' coming.

This anticipation and celebration is often elusive to us; we so hate to be let down and disappointed. So often we would rather keep the promise of God - with all of its uncertainty - at an arm's length rather than embrace it fully, which demands our trust and faith. But if we are to truly engage in the real depth and meaning of Advent, it begins with the understanding and belief that God keeps his promises.

On Sunday we said it like this:
The promises of God are inevitable, 
yet often unexpected.
And so when Paul talks about the return of Jesus (while referencing a prophecy of the coming of Christ) he writes,"For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 
[1 Thess. 5:2]

What we see here is:
1. We can be unaware or unconcerned about Jesus' coming
"As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of man comes." [Matthew 24:37-39]

2. We can be filled with guilt, fear, and shame at Jesus' coming 
 "What sorrow awaits you who say, “If only the day of the Lord were here!” You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless, without a ray of joy or hope." [Amos 5:18, 20]

3. Or we can put our faith and hope in Christ, and be filled with joy and celebration that the day of the Lord has come 
"But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night."
[1 Thessalonians 5:4-5]
Paul's directive then is that those who believe in Jesus should be: 
1) Awake and aware of what God is doing; 2) Clearheaded and have a proper perspective on this life and the next; 3) Prepared and equipped for the unexpected day and work of God.
What difference will the incarnation make in 
your life this Advent season?
Prayer for the First Week of Advent 
“Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; that in the last day, when He comes again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to eternal life; through him who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
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