Through the New Testament Reading - 2 Timothy 4-Titus 3
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Day 4 – Key Verses Engaged
I'm a fairly independent person by nature. I like to have control over my own life, make my own decisions, and do things my way.
When it comes to community life, I'm the guy most likely to try to get my way by just being the biggest and loudest and most obnoxious. I don't actually intentionally think this way, I just know my own tendencies.
For me, submission to others in community means letting them do it their way. Though my tendency would be to try to control my environment by making sure everything is done threat I like it and when I like it, if everyone were to actually do that, there would be no diversity in the community. In truth there would be no community at all.
So, I submit to the fact that there are different roles, gifts, and worldviews in community. I give up my need to do everything myself. When others take responsibility for things, I give up
The need to control them. I will allow others to do things their way. I will even allow myself to learn and grow through their unique contributions.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Ephesians 5:1-2, 8, 21, 1 Timothy 4-2 Timothy 3
Through the New Testament Reading - 1 Timothy 4-2 Timothy 3
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Because we are so dearly loved by our new Father, we should take him and our older brother as our new role models. Jesus was both dearly loving toward us and humbly submitted to his Father. Our lives were purchased with his. Our lives, therefore, can now be freely offered to our loving God as a living offering to him.
God is light. In him is no darkness at all. We are now God's children, children of light. We no longer hide and deceive as we once did. Our entire beings are exposed in his presence. We do not feel ashamed. We live humbly, allowing ourselves, our new selves, our true selves, to be seen by God and others. We have nothing to hide, because our life reflects God-life, in justice, righteousness, and love.
Christ submitted himself to God the Father. He considered us before himself by willingly going to the cross. In Christ, we also live humbly among those he redeemed. We also put them first, not demanding our own way or fighting for our individual rights. We have no hierarchy in Christ's body. Only he is the rabbi. We are all disciples. We have the same Spirit, and he speaks through any and all of us to any and all of us.
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Because we are so dearly loved by our new Father, we should take him and our older brother as our new role models. Jesus was both dearly loving toward us and humbly submitted to his Father. Our lives were purchased with his. Our lives, therefore, can now be freely offered to our loving God as a living offering to him.
God is light. In him is no darkness at all. We are now God's children, children of light. We no longer hide and deceive as we once did. Our entire beings are exposed in his presence. We do not feel ashamed. We live humbly, allowing ourselves, our new selves, our true selves, to be seen by God and others. We have nothing to hide, because our life reflects God-life, in justice, righteousness, and love.
Christ submitted himself to God the Father. He considered us before himself by willingly going to the cross. In Christ, we also live humbly among those he redeemed. We also put them first, not demanding our own way or fighting for our individual rights. We have no hierarchy in Christ's body. Only he is the rabbi. We are all disciples. We have the same Spirit, and he speaks through any and all of us to any and all of us.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Ephesians 5 - Key verses, 2 Thessalonians 1-1 Timothy 3
Through the New Testament Reading - 2 Thessalonians 1-1 Timothy 3
Ephesians 5
Day 2 – Key Verses
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5
Day 2 – Key Verses
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Ephesians 5, 1 Thessalonians 1-5
Through the New Testament Reading - 1 Thessalonians 1-5
(see more notes on Ephesians 5)
Ephesians 5 (NIV 1984)
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
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My Reflection:
Chapter divisions are helpful for directing contemporary readers to certain passages and subjects in scripture. However, the original text did not include such divisions. The book of Ephesians was one continuous letter, and meant to be read and understood as a whole.
With that in mind, considerthe first verses of chapter five in the context of the verses which came before them:
Ephesians 4:29-5:2
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Our response to other people in God's community is an imitation of God's work in our lives. Because he forgave us, we are to forgive others. Because he welcomed us into community, we welcome others with love. Because he gave himself up on our behalf so that we could be with him, we also put other people first in order to make a way for them.
This is the core of the matter for this entire chapter. Just as he began describing in chapter four, now that we belong to God, by faith we must start walking according to the new life he has freed us to experience. We are legally placed in the heavenly realms in Christ. Now we must manifest the truth of this reality by living as children of light. Once we were dead in sin, now we are alive. We minister that life to everyone around us. Our lives and our relationships to others preach the reality of the gospel, and the life of Jesus in us.
(see more notes on Ephesians 5)
Ephesians 5 (NIV 1984)
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
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++
++
My Reflection:
Chapter divisions are helpful for directing contemporary readers to certain passages and subjects in scripture. However, the original text did not include such divisions. The book of Ephesians was one continuous letter, and meant to be read and understood as a whole.
With that in mind, considerthe first verses of chapter five in the context of the verses which came before them:
Ephesians 4:29-5:2
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Our response to other people in God's community is an imitation of God's work in our lives. Because he forgave us, we are to forgive others. Because he welcomed us into community, we welcome others with love. Because he gave himself up on our behalf so that we could be with him, we also put other people first in order to make a way for them.
This is the core of the matter for this entire chapter. Just as he began describing in chapter four, now that we belong to God, by faith we must start walking according to the new life he has freed us to experience. We are legally placed in the heavenly realms in Christ. Now we must manifest the truth of this reality by living as children of light. Once we were dead in sin, now we are alive. We minister that life to everyone around us. Our lives and our relationships to others preach the reality of the gospel, and the life of Jesus in us.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Community 4 - God Directs Covenant Community - The Law
INTRO/REVIEW
Community Begins With God
The community of the Triune God will be our basis for understanding perfect community.
Godly Community Expresses
1. Joyful Love
2. Humble Unity
3. Mutual Generosity
4. Honesty and Understanding
5. Fruitfulness
Godly love in community is an outward focused love, a love that includes anyone who would receive it.
The Community of God Creates Community
1. God created mankind in his image
2. God created humans to be fruitful
In the beginning, God created from his community a community that had seeds of more community.
The Community of God Redeems Community
1. Godly Community is Horizontal and Vertical (Including God and people)
2. Without God, Natural Community is Selfish Idealism, and Ends in Hostility
3. God Restores Peaceful Community In Jesus
ABRAHAM AND SARAH – THE BEGINNING OF GOD’S COVENANT COMMUNITY
God Plants Community Through His Covenant
Our Faith, Shown in our Obedience, Receives the Seed God Plants
1. God promised Abraham and Sarah that he would make them a nation and give them a land.
2. Abraham and Sarah obeyed God by leaving their home and going to the land he showed them.
God Blesses the Entire World Through His Covenant Community
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
1. God promised that the entire world would be blessed through Abraham’s family
2. By faith in Jesus, we are Abraham’s family
3. God blesses the entire world through us
Through Us, God Spreads the Seeds of His Community to the World
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The Law – God Directs Community
When asked about the law, Jesus answered that the entire law and the prophets, the whole of Hebrew scripture, was summed up in two commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. This is when he told the story of a good Samaritan, a foreigner who gave aid to a Jewish man in need. Jesus said this man was the neighbour, and his act was the love that the law is talking about.
Scripture tells us that Jesus came to fulfill the law. This is why, In Christ and through faith, we are no longer bound to the law as our gateway to God. It is our faith, not our works that justify us. When we look at the law now, we look backwards through the cross. It is no longer a stumbling block or a burden. But what we are able to see when we look at the law from this side of Jesus, is God’s first directions of his covenant community. He intended his community to be a blessing to the entire world.
Today, through Jesus, we are part of that covenant community. How do we love our neighbour, even strangers, even people who are outsiders to us? The law given to God’s covenant people can give us clues as to how God intended for his people to live as his agents of blessing to the world.
God’s Covenant Community – A Blessing to the Whole World
The clear direction of God to his covenant community through the whole of the Hebrew scriptures reveals a pattern of God’s intention for how Godly Community is to love God and their neighbours.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
From God’s first words to Abraham until the Israelites receive the Ten Commandments at Sinai, we see the children of Abraham being tremendously blessed, prospering wherever they go, and seeking the prosperity of all those they encounter. Isaac makes peace with the Philistines in his land. Jacob provides generous aid for Laban.
Prayer and Intercession – Intercession means to pray as a mediator, going to God on someone else’s behalf. Abraham was chosen as a prophet of YHWH, representing God to the people of the world. But was also and intercessor, praying to God on behalf of and for, the healing and wholeness of the people of the world. Abraham patiently and boldly intercedes for those who will perish at God’s hand in Sodom (Gen 18). On behalf of the wicked, he prays to God for mercy (note – God’s man of faith has a posture intercession to God for the Sodomites). Abraham also intercedes for Abimelech, the Philistine King. God answers Abram’s prayer, and heals Abimelech and his entire household (Genesis 20).
In Egypt, Pharaoh asks Moses many times over to pray to YHWH for mercy for him and for his people. Every time Moses prays for Pharaoh and for Egypt, God stays his hand of judgment. In the desert, Moses would continue to intercede on behalf of the Israelites, again praying for mercy, and again seeing God answer his prayer for the people.
Generosity and Mercy – Joseph’s story is a great example of God’s blessing on his people blessing the world through them. . Everywhere Joseph goes, he is blessed, and the blessing of God in his life brings prosperity to everyone around him, no matter the circumstance, even as a slave. Even in jail.
Joseph, Abraham’s great grandson, was sold into slavery by his brothers. His master was blessed by having God’s man as a slave, and promoted him. From here, Joseph ended up in prison. He quickly became the overseer of the prison because of the blessing of God. From jail, the favour of God gave Joseph the ear of the highest ruler in Egypt. Joseph’s wisdom causes Egypt to be blessed. Through Egypt under the wise and righteous rule of God’s chosen man, many people in surrounding nations are provided for during a severe famine (Gen 40).
(Genesis 39:2-5, 20-23
2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.)
Proclamation and Justice – God’s blessing followed his covenant community, and was generously shared with the neighbours and strangers around them, but it did not come at the cost of compromising justice or truth. Joseph boldly proclaimed God’s words though it cost him his family, and eventually landed him in jail (when he acted in integrity and refused to sleep with his master’s wife). In jail, his bold integrity in sharing God’s word is what promoted him to speak to the Pharaoh.
It was because of Pharaoh’s obedience to the word of God in Joseph’s mouth that Egypt was blessed. Four hundred years later, it was another Pharaoh’s disobedience to the word of God in Moses’ mouth that caused Egypt’s destruction.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
Joseph’s story of redemption mirrors the story of all of Israel 400 years later when God dramatically rescues them from slavery and oppression in Egypt.
The Cry of the Oppressed - Exodus 3:9-10 - And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” This cry is the same one that God heard when he said to Cain that the blood of his murdered brother Abel cried out to him. This is the same cry that Hagar and Ishmael made in the desert when they were banished by Sarah and Abraham, and God heard them, too.
After Egypt, God reminded his covenant people over and over that he heard their cry, and redeemed them. To Moses, he was “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”. To the Israelites after Moses, he was “God who brought you out of Egypt”. He was their creator through Adam, his covenant was through Abraham, but from Egypt, he was their redeemer. (The God who brought you out of Egypt – (Exodus 13:91, Exodus 16:6, Exodus 16:32, Exodus 20:2, Leviticus 19:36, Leviticus 22:33, Leviticus 25:38, Leviticus 26:13, Numbers 15:41, Deuteronomy 4:37, Deuteronomy 5:6, Deuteronomy 6:12, Deuteronomy 8:14, Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 13:10, Deuteronomy 16:1)
It was this introduction that he gave to the people of Israel at Sinai when he gave them the law.
Exodus 20:2 - I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
430 years after God’s first words to Abraham, his intention for his people had not changed. He had chosen and redeemed them for a purpose – they would continue to love their neighbours through intercession, mercy, and justice. The rest of the Hebrew Scriptures show us how God’s Covenant Community succeeded and failed in living this reality in the world.
(Those of us brought up in Sunday School may easily remember the stories of the Old Testament as hero stories of war and conquest. God’s chosen people were the good guys, and everyone else was evil and ripe for God’s judgment at the hands of his righteous people. Outside of the Sunday School crowd, the most we may hear about the Old Testament law is a few verses lifted out of context by hateful fundamentalists, or strange and obscure verses about what not to eat or wear or poop on, taken equally out of their context in order to make the fundamentalists look foolish. The reality of the history of the Law and the Israelite people is far more nuanced, and far more beautiful.)
The Hebrew scriptures are a great romance. The Law at Sinai was a renewal of God’s Covenant with his people, a proposal of sorts. Throughout the rest of scripture, YHWH woos his chosen bride, gifting her with great blessing and prosperity, patiently calling her back when she wanders, partnering with her against her oppressors, and challenging her to be righteous.
The prohibitions of the law are quickly remembered. Do not steal. Do not covet. Do not lie. Do not murder. Going further than this, God also did give direction to the Israelites as to what they could eat, what they could wear, and who they could do business with. At first glance, we see rules that would guide civil behavior in a healthy community, but there was more. In the multiethnic and polytheistic world of Canaan, this law effectively set the people apart from their neighbours. It was hard to hang out with the Hebrew people if you were not Hebrew yourself. It was this separation that kept the Hebrew people unique from all the other cultures surrounding them. It was God’s intention that they be his people, living uniquely for his purpose. The Israelite’s knew this, and they were glad for their relationship.
But there was a great deal more to the story of the Israelite people than keeping edge. God intended for his people to be a just society. In a world of oppression, abuse, and hedonism, where people could worship God through ritual sex or child sacrifice, God’s people were to be a counter-cultural beacon of peace, prosperity, justice, and righteousness.
Exodus 22:21-27
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Prayer and Intercession – The Psalms, a book of prayers of God’s people, are filled with pleas of the righteous on behalf of the poor and oppressed. The law of God’s people was incredibly just for the poor, the orphan, and the widow. All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God calls his people to do justly for the poor among them, and he chastises them severely when they act unrighteously.
Leviticus 23:22
" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "
Deuteronomy 24:21-22 - When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Generosity and Mercy - For the land that was divided between the tribes of Israel, God also placed restrictions to make sure that land ownership would never create great disparity of wealth between families. Every generation, a family’s land was to be returned, and their debt canceled. Other societies would see Israel, and know their God was generous and merciful.
God’s people were to deal justly with foreigners among them as well. "For the Lord your God is . . . the awesome God who does not show partiality . . . . He brings about justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. Therefore, show your love for the stranger" (Deut. 10:17-19). Israelites were to care for the traveler or alien in the land because they had once been strangers in the land of Egypt. They were not to oppress strangers, because they had been oppressed in Egypt. They were to promote justice for the poor because YHWH God loves justice (Psa 146:7). God’s people took care of the most vulnerable among them because YHWH "supports the orphan and the widow" (Psa. 146:9). To the foreigners around and among them, they were to display the goodness and mercy of God.
(Non-Israelites were to be included in religious ceremony and worship. (Ex 23:12, Num 9:14, Num 15:14, Josh 8:33)
Non-Israelites were to be included in the same social justice programs as the Israelites. (Lev 19:10, 23:27, Deut 24:19-21, Lev 25:47-50 - they also received some of the tithes of the Israelites - Deut 14:29, 26:12)
Non-Israelites were to be included in the same system of law and justice as the Israelites. (Num 35:15, Josh 20:9, Deut 1:16, 24:17, Lev 24:22, Num 9:14, 15:16,29)
They had to receive fair wages. (Deut 24:14)
AND God made it very clear that the Israelites were not to oppress the non-Israelites among them. (Lev 19:33,34, Deut 10:17-19, Deut 24:16-18)
God also makes it clear that the land the land they lived on did NOT belong to the Israelites, but to God, and that God has a purpose for them being there.
Leviticus 25:23-24 - " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."
When the land was divided among the tribes of Israel, God told them that the land was an inheritance both for them and the foreigners living among them(Ezekiel 47:21-23). )
At the best of times, God’s people were a prosperous nation, and lived as God intended, redeeming the land, and displaying his goodness. The Queen of Sheba noticed the wealth and prosperity of Israel when Solomon was King. During her visit, she said this to King Solomon:
1 Kings 10:9 - Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.
(The word “righteousness” in this passage is a translation from the Hebrew word “tsedakah”, and is a very important one to the Jewish people. We tend to think of righteousness in fairly mathematical terms. It means to do right things. Someone who does right things is righteous. Someone who does wrong things is unrighteous. Theologically, we see two types of righteousness in the New Testament. Romans says we are made righteous because of Jesus. This is right being – a legal reality we receive through faith. 1 John 3:7 says that if we act righteously we are righteous. This is right doing – a practical reality that manifest every day through God’s Spirit in us.
But how do we be righteous? What are these righteous things that we do? The Jewish people asked these same questions, and by a thorough knowledge of their law, they knew well what it meant to practice “tzedekah”. For the Jewish people, tzedekah, or righteousness, explicitly means generosity and justice for the poor and needy.)
The Jewish people believed that the purpose of wealth was to provide opportunity to participate in God’s acts of righteousness, or tzedekah in the world. Every member of the covenant community was required to give to the needy, including the poor who would give from the tzedekah they received. (If you refused to give, you could be flogged, and your property could be seized and given to the poor. Essentially, this became a tax. Usually, it would be about ten percent. This was only part of the financial obligation of members in the community, besides the tithe that went to the priests, and their sacrifices.)
The culture of generosity extended past finances, gleanings, and forgiven debt. Israelites were taught to personally and practically serve their neighbours and meet their needs. This included bringing peace between people, hospitality shown to travelers, inviting the hungry to share family meals, visiting the sick and elderly, attending the dead to burial, and celebrating any marriage, or other family milestones in the community. Giving money could be done only with one's possessions while true compassion required the giving of oneself. Money could be given only to the poor while compassion could be extended to anyone.
(In 325 B.C., the High Priest Simeon (called the Just) acts of compassion, study of Torah, and worship as the three distinguishing characteristics of being Jewish. To deny the responsibility to the poor was to deny God.)
The attitude behind giving to the needy and seeking justice for the oppressed was that all possessions, lands, and goods ultimately belonged to God. The wealth given to the poor was already theirs, given to them by YHWH. The justice that was sought for the oppressed was already theirs, given to them by YHWH. God’s people were simply privileged to participate in God’s work in the world.
Psalm 103:6 - The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
So too did God’s people.
Proclamation and Justice - The age of Kings did not last long for the Israelites. Sometimes, they would cease to act as the righteous and just people that God intended them to be. Every time, God would send his prophets who would weep and mourn for their sin, and call the people to repent and do justice again for the poor, the fatherless, and the widow (see the scripture passages at the end of the text).* For many years the people of Israel had to question their identity as they lived with foreign nations occupying their lands. They had to rediscover what it meant to walk justly among their neighbours, now that their neighbours were the ones with power, and they were the foreigners among them.
Through his prophet Jeremiah, God speaks to his people exiled in Babylon. Like he had for Joseph in prison, God still intended to bless his people, and through them, show his goodness to the entire world.
Jeremiah 29:4-7
4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Like Joseph, whether God’s covenant community were in power or in slavery, prospering, in jail, or in exile, God’s intention for them remained the same. God’s people were to be intercessors, a kingdom of priests ministering mercy and proclaiming justice to the nations of the world. In this grand romance, God chooses to use people, even broken people, even stubborn people, even enslaved people and oppressed people, to show to the world his goodness and his righteousness, his justice and his grace.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
(Next Week – God Enters Community)
++++++++++
*(Micah 2:1-3
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.
Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
Jeremiah 7:4-8
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"
If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Zechariah 7:8-14
And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
" 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.'"
Isaiah 1:15-17
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;
wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.)
Community Begins With God
The community of the Triune God will be our basis for understanding perfect community.
Godly Community Expresses
1. Joyful Love
2. Humble Unity
3. Mutual Generosity
4. Honesty and Understanding
5. Fruitfulness
Godly love in community is an outward focused love, a love that includes anyone who would receive it.
The Community of God Creates Community
1. God created mankind in his image
2. God created humans to be fruitful
In the beginning, God created from his community a community that had seeds of more community.
The Community of God Redeems Community
1. Godly Community is Horizontal and Vertical (Including God and people)
2. Without God, Natural Community is Selfish Idealism, and Ends in Hostility
3. God Restores Peaceful Community In Jesus
ABRAHAM AND SARAH – THE BEGINNING OF GOD’S COVENANT COMMUNITY
God Plants Community Through His Covenant
Our Faith, Shown in our Obedience, Receives the Seed God Plants
1. God promised Abraham and Sarah that he would make them a nation and give them a land.
2. Abraham and Sarah obeyed God by leaving their home and going to the land he showed them.
God Blesses the Entire World Through His Covenant Community
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
1. God promised that the entire world would be blessed through Abraham’s family
2. By faith in Jesus, we are Abraham’s family
3. God blesses the entire world through us
Through Us, God Spreads the Seeds of His Community to the World
+++++
The Law – God Directs Community
When asked about the law, Jesus answered that the entire law and the prophets, the whole of Hebrew scripture, was summed up in two commands: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. This is when he told the story of a good Samaritan, a foreigner who gave aid to a Jewish man in need. Jesus said this man was the neighbour, and his act was the love that the law is talking about.
Scripture tells us that Jesus came to fulfill the law. This is why, In Christ and through faith, we are no longer bound to the law as our gateway to God. It is our faith, not our works that justify us. When we look at the law now, we look backwards through the cross. It is no longer a stumbling block or a burden. But what we are able to see when we look at the law from this side of Jesus, is God’s first directions of his covenant community. He intended his community to be a blessing to the entire world.
Today, through Jesus, we are part of that covenant community. How do we love our neighbour, even strangers, even people who are outsiders to us? The law given to God’s covenant people can give us clues as to how God intended for his people to live as his agents of blessing to the world.
God’s Covenant Community – A Blessing to the Whole World
The clear direction of God to his covenant community through the whole of the Hebrew scriptures reveals a pattern of God’s intention for how Godly Community is to love God and their neighbours.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
From God’s first words to Abraham until the Israelites receive the Ten Commandments at Sinai, we see the children of Abraham being tremendously blessed, prospering wherever they go, and seeking the prosperity of all those they encounter. Isaac makes peace with the Philistines in his land. Jacob provides generous aid for Laban.
Prayer and Intercession – Intercession means to pray as a mediator, going to God on someone else’s behalf. Abraham was chosen as a prophet of YHWH, representing God to the people of the world. But was also and intercessor, praying to God on behalf of and for, the healing and wholeness of the people of the world. Abraham patiently and boldly intercedes for those who will perish at God’s hand in Sodom (Gen 18). On behalf of the wicked, he prays to God for mercy (note – God’s man of faith has a posture intercession to God for the Sodomites). Abraham also intercedes for Abimelech, the Philistine King. God answers Abram’s prayer, and heals Abimelech and his entire household (Genesis 20).
In Egypt, Pharaoh asks Moses many times over to pray to YHWH for mercy for him and for his people. Every time Moses prays for Pharaoh and for Egypt, God stays his hand of judgment. In the desert, Moses would continue to intercede on behalf of the Israelites, again praying for mercy, and again seeing God answer his prayer for the people.
Generosity and Mercy – Joseph’s story is a great example of God’s blessing on his people blessing the world through them. . Everywhere Joseph goes, he is blessed, and the blessing of God in his life brings prosperity to everyone around him, no matter the circumstance, even as a slave. Even in jail.
Joseph, Abraham’s great grandson, was sold into slavery by his brothers. His master was blessed by having God’s man as a slave, and promoted him. From here, Joseph ended up in prison. He quickly became the overseer of the prison because of the blessing of God. From jail, the favour of God gave Joseph the ear of the highest ruler in Egypt. Joseph’s wisdom causes Egypt to be blessed. Through Egypt under the wise and righteous rule of God’s chosen man, many people in surrounding nations are provided for during a severe famine (Gen 40).
(Genesis 39:2-5, 20-23
2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.)
Proclamation and Justice – God’s blessing followed his covenant community, and was generously shared with the neighbours and strangers around them, but it did not come at the cost of compromising justice or truth. Joseph boldly proclaimed God’s words though it cost him his family, and eventually landed him in jail (when he acted in integrity and refused to sleep with his master’s wife). In jail, his bold integrity in sharing God’s word is what promoted him to speak to the Pharaoh.
It was because of Pharaoh’s obedience to the word of God in Joseph’s mouth that Egypt was blessed. Four hundred years later, it was another Pharaoh’s disobedience to the word of God in Moses’ mouth that caused Egypt’s destruction.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
Joseph’s story of redemption mirrors the story of all of Israel 400 years later when God dramatically rescues them from slavery and oppression in Egypt.
The Cry of the Oppressed - Exodus 3:9-10 - And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” This cry is the same one that God heard when he said to Cain that the blood of his murdered brother Abel cried out to him. This is the same cry that Hagar and Ishmael made in the desert when they were banished by Sarah and Abraham, and God heard them, too.
After Egypt, God reminded his covenant people over and over that he heard their cry, and redeemed them. To Moses, he was “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”. To the Israelites after Moses, he was “God who brought you out of Egypt”. He was their creator through Adam, his covenant was through Abraham, but from Egypt, he was their redeemer. (The God who brought you out of Egypt – (Exodus 13:91, Exodus 16:6, Exodus 16:32, Exodus 20:2, Leviticus 19:36, Leviticus 22:33, Leviticus 25:38, Leviticus 26:13, Numbers 15:41, Deuteronomy 4:37, Deuteronomy 5:6, Deuteronomy 6:12, Deuteronomy 8:14, Deuteronomy 13:5, Deuteronomy 13:10, Deuteronomy 16:1)
It was this introduction that he gave to the people of Israel at Sinai when he gave them the law.
Exodus 20:2 - I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
430 years after God’s first words to Abraham, his intention for his people had not changed. He had chosen and redeemed them for a purpose – they would continue to love their neighbours through intercession, mercy, and justice. The rest of the Hebrew Scriptures show us how God’s Covenant Community succeeded and failed in living this reality in the world.
(Those of us brought up in Sunday School may easily remember the stories of the Old Testament as hero stories of war and conquest. God’s chosen people were the good guys, and everyone else was evil and ripe for God’s judgment at the hands of his righteous people. Outside of the Sunday School crowd, the most we may hear about the Old Testament law is a few verses lifted out of context by hateful fundamentalists, or strange and obscure verses about what not to eat or wear or poop on, taken equally out of their context in order to make the fundamentalists look foolish. The reality of the history of the Law and the Israelite people is far more nuanced, and far more beautiful.)
The Hebrew scriptures are a great romance. The Law at Sinai was a renewal of God’s Covenant with his people, a proposal of sorts. Throughout the rest of scripture, YHWH woos his chosen bride, gifting her with great blessing and prosperity, patiently calling her back when she wanders, partnering with her against her oppressors, and challenging her to be righteous.
The prohibitions of the law are quickly remembered. Do not steal. Do not covet. Do not lie. Do not murder. Going further than this, God also did give direction to the Israelites as to what they could eat, what they could wear, and who they could do business with. At first glance, we see rules that would guide civil behavior in a healthy community, but there was more. In the multiethnic and polytheistic world of Canaan, this law effectively set the people apart from their neighbours. It was hard to hang out with the Hebrew people if you were not Hebrew yourself. It was this separation that kept the Hebrew people unique from all the other cultures surrounding them. It was God’s intention that they be his people, living uniquely for his purpose. The Israelite’s knew this, and they were glad for their relationship.
But there was a great deal more to the story of the Israelite people than keeping edge. God intended for his people to be a just society. In a world of oppression, abuse, and hedonism, where people could worship God through ritual sex or child sacrifice, God’s people were to be a counter-cultural beacon of peace, prosperity, justice, and righteousness.
Exodus 22:21-27
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Prayer and Intercession – The Psalms, a book of prayers of God’s people, are filled with pleas of the righteous on behalf of the poor and oppressed. The law of God’s people was incredibly just for the poor, the orphan, and the widow. All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God calls his people to do justly for the poor among them, and he chastises them severely when they act unrighteously.
Leviticus 23:22
" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "
Deuteronomy 24:21-22 - When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Generosity and Mercy - For the land that was divided between the tribes of Israel, God also placed restrictions to make sure that land ownership would never create great disparity of wealth between families. Every generation, a family’s land was to be returned, and their debt canceled. Other societies would see Israel, and know their God was generous and merciful.
God’s people were to deal justly with foreigners among them as well. "For the Lord your God is . . . the awesome God who does not show partiality . . . . He brings about justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. Therefore, show your love for the stranger" (Deut. 10:17-19). Israelites were to care for the traveler or alien in the land because they had once been strangers in the land of Egypt. They were not to oppress strangers, because they had been oppressed in Egypt. They were to promote justice for the poor because YHWH God loves justice (Psa 146:7). God’s people took care of the most vulnerable among them because YHWH "supports the orphan and the widow" (Psa. 146:9). To the foreigners around and among them, they were to display the goodness and mercy of God.
(Non-Israelites were to be included in religious ceremony and worship. (Ex 23:12, Num 9:14, Num 15:14, Josh 8:33)
Non-Israelites were to be included in the same social justice programs as the Israelites. (Lev 19:10, 23:27, Deut 24:19-21, Lev 25:47-50 - they also received some of the tithes of the Israelites - Deut 14:29, 26:12)
Non-Israelites were to be included in the same system of law and justice as the Israelites. (Num 35:15, Josh 20:9, Deut 1:16, 24:17, Lev 24:22, Num 9:14, 15:16,29)
They had to receive fair wages. (Deut 24:14)
AND God made it very clear that the Israelites were not to oppress the non-Israelites among them. (Lev 19:33,34, Deut 10:17-19, Deut 24:16-18)
God also makes it clear that the land the land they lived on did NOT belong to the Israelites, but to God, and that God has a purpose for them being there.
Leviticus 25:23-24 - " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land."
When the land was divided among the tribes of Israel, God told them that the land was an inheritance both for them and the foreigners living among them(Ezekiel 47:21-23). )
At the best of times, God’s people were a prosperous nation, and lived as God intended, redeeming the land, and displaying his goodness. The Queen of Sheba noticed the wealth and prosperity of Israel when Solomon was King. During her visit, she said this to King Solomon:
1 Kings 10:9 - Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.
(The word “righteousness” in this passage is a translation from the Hebrew word “tsedakah”, and is a very important one to the Jewish people. We tend to think of righteousness in fairly mathematical terms. It means to do right things. Someone who does right things is righteous. Someone who does wrong things is unrighteous. Theologically, we see two types of righteousness in the New Testament. Romans says we are made righteous because of Jesus. This is right being – a legal reality we receive through faith. 1 John 3:7 says that if we act righteously we are righteous. This is right doing – a practical reality that manifest every day through God’s Spirit in us.
But how do we be righteous? What are these righteous things that we do? The Jewish people asked these same questions, and by a thorough knowledge of their law, they knew well what it meant to practice “tzedekah”. For the Jewish people, tzedekah, or righteousness, explicitly means generosity and justice for the poor and needy.)
The Jewish people believed that the purpose of wealth was to provide opportunity to participate in God’s acts of righteousness, or tzedekah in the world. Every member of the covenant community was required to give to the needy, including the poor who would give from the tzedekah they received. (If you refused to give, you could be flogged, and your property could be seized and given to the poor. Essentially, this became a tax. Usually, it would be about ten percent. This was only part of the financial obligation of members in the community, besides the tithe that went to the priests, and their sacrifices.)
The culture of generosity extended past finances, gleanings, and forgiven debt. Israelites were taught to personally and practically serve their neighbours and meet their needs. This included bringing peace between people, hospitality shown to travelers, inviting the hungry to share family meals, visiting the sick and elderly, attending the dead to burial, and celebrating any marriage, or other family milestones in the community. Giving money could be done only with one's possessions while true compassion required the giving of oneself. Money could be given only to the poor while compassion could be extended to anyone.
(In 325 B.C., the High Priest Simeon (called the Just) acts of compassion, study of Torah, and worship as the three distinguishing characteristics of being Jewish. To deny the responsibility to the poor was to deny God.)
The attitude behind giving to the needy and seeking justice for the oppressed was that all possessions, lands, and goods ultimately belonged to God. The wealth given to the poor was already theirs, given to them by YHWH. The justice that was sought for the oppressed was already theirs, given to them by YHWH. God’s people were simply privileged to participate in God’s work in the world.
Psalm 103:6 - The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
So too did God’s people.
Proclamation and Justice - The age of Kings did not last long for the Israelites. Sometimes, they would cease to act as the righteous and just people that God intended them to be. Every time, God would send his prophets who would weep and mourn for their sin, and call the people to repent and do justice again for the poor, the fatherless, and the widow (see the scripture passages at the end of the text).* For many years the people of Israel had to question their identity as they lived with foreign nations occupying their lands. They had to rediscover what it meant to walk justly among their neighbours, now that their neighbours were the ones with power, and they were the foreigners among them.
Through his prophet Jeremiah, God speaks to his people exiled in Babylon. Like he had for Joseph in prison, God still intended to bless his people, and through them, show his goodness to the entire world.
Jeremiah 29:4-7
4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Like Joseph, whether God’s covenant community were in power or in slavery, prospering, in jail, or in exile, God’s intention for them remained the same. God’s people were to be intercessors, a kingdom of priests ministering mercy and proclaiming justice to the nations of the world. In this grand romance, God chooses to use people, even broken people, even stubborn people, even enslaved people and oppressed people, to show to the world his goodness and his righteousness, his justice and his grace.
Godly Community Blesses the World Through
1. Prayer and Intercession
2. Generosity and Mercy
3. Proclamation and Justice
(Next Week – God Enters Community)
++++++++++
*(Micah 2:1-3
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home,
a fellowman of his inheritance.
Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
Jeremiah 7:4-8
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"
If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Zechariah 7:8-14
And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
" 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. 'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.'"
Isaiah 1:15-17
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;
wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.)
Justice For The Alien, Fatherless, Widow, And Oppressed
Exodus 22:21
"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
Exodus 23:9
"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
Leviticus 23:22
" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "
Leviticus 25:22-24 (NIV)
22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
23 " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 24 Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (NIV)
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 23:15-16 (NIV)
15 If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. 16 Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.
Deuteronomy 24:16-22
16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Deuteronomy 27:19
"Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
1 Kings 10:9 (NIV)
9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.
Psalm 10:12-18 (NIV)
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
Psalm 12:5
"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the LORD. "I will protect them from those who malign them."
Psalm 103:6
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Isaiah 1:17
learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 11:1-5 (NIV)
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
Isaiah 58:6-10 (NIV)
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
Isaiah 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Jeremiah 7:4-8 (NIV)
4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Jeremiah 22:3-5 (NIV)
3 This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.'"
Ezekiel 22:6-8,12
6 " 'See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 12 In you men accept bribes to shed blood; you take usury and excessive interest and make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Ezekiel 47:13-14,21-23 (NIV)
13 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with two portions for Joseph. 14 You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will become your inheritance.
21 "You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance," declares the Sovereign LORD.
Amos 5:11-12
11 You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
vv21-24
21 “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Zephaniah 31-4 (NIV)
1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!
2 She obeys no one,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials are roaring lions,
her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant;
they are treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.
Zechariah 7:8-12 (NIV)
8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
11 "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
+++
NEW TESTAMENT
Luke 4:14-21 (NIV)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
James 1:27 (NIV)
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 5:1-6 (NIV)
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
Exodus 23:9
"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
Leviticus 23:22
" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "
Leviticus 25:22-24 (NIV)
22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
23 " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 24 Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (NIV)
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 23:15-16 (NIV)
15 If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. 16 Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.
Deuteronomy 24:16-22
16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Deuteronomy 27:19
"Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
1 Kings 10:9 (NIV)
9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.
Psalm 10:12-18 (NIV)
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
Psalm 12:5
"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the LORD. "I will protect them from those who malign them."
Psalm 103:6
The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Isaiah 1:17
learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 11:1-5 (NIV)
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
Isaiah 58:6-10 (NIV)
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
Isaiah 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Jeremiah 7:4-8 (NIV)
4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Jeremiah 22:3-5 (NIV)
3 This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.'"
Ezekiel 22:6-8,12
6 " 'See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. 7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 12 In you men accept bribes to shed blood; you take usury and excessive interest and make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Ezekiel 47:13-14,21-23 (NIV)
13 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "These are the boundaries by which you are to divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel, with two portions for Joseph. 14 You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your forefathers, this land will become your inheritance.
21 "You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance," declares the Sovereign LORD.
Amos 5:11-12
11 You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
vv21-24
21 “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Zephaniah 31-4 (NIV)
1 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!
2 She obeys no one,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials are roaring lions,
her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant;
they are treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.
Zechariah 7:8-12 (NIV)
8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
11 "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
+++
NEW TESTAMENT
Luke 4:14-21 (NIV)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
James 1:27 (NIV)
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 5:1-6 (NIV)
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Ephesians 4, Philippians 1-4
Through the New Testament Reading - Philippians 1-4
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 5 – My Personal Response to Ephesians 4
I was reminded last night of my commitment last week to seek reconciliation with a former acquaintance with which I've fallen out. I haven't done it. I forgot.
(the rest of this portion of my journal is inappropriate for public display. sorry.)
+
We are "we".
I do a lot of studying, and I read or listen to a lot of (parts of) sermons. This is part of my job, as I prepare every week to preach. A few times a week I find myself judging the writers of the sermons I read, or judging Christians generally as I learn more about how the Bible describes the true Christian life. The irony is not lost on me as thoughts along the lines of, "I sure am glad I'm not self-righteous like some of those other Christians" pass through my mind. I repent every time, and ask God to change me, and remove that judmentalism from my own heart.
In my best moments, I remember that we are "we". In the body of Christ, there is no "us" and "them". If Christians are judgmental, "we" are judgmental. If we are not following Jesus as he taught us, "we" are wrong. The Lord's prayer says, "forgive us our sins". When I pray this in solidarity with all my brothers and sisters around the world, it gives me pause. We are a body. If my finely tuned bs-o-meter is catching wind of trouble in the body, that is an occasion for me to pray on behalf of that member, or humbly and graciously seek to help them follow Jesus more truly. If I see all of my brothers and sisters as essential members of this same body, I must reach out in an attitude of grace. Judgment simply cuts me off from the body, rendering me as useless as a disembodied hand.
So I will continue to watch my pronouns. In my heart and in my speech, I want to remember that both the brother I see on television and the sister I see feeding refugees across the world are both "we". I will pray for both, and seek God's healing for our broken body.
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 5 – My Personal Response to Ephesians 4
I was reminded last night of my commitment last week to seek reconciliation with a former acquaintance with which I've fallen out. I haven't done it. I forgot.
(the rest of this portion of my journal is inappropriate for public display. sorry.)
+
We are "we".
I do a lot of studying, and I read or listen to a lot of (parts of) sermons. This is part of my job, as I prepare every week to preach. A few times a week I find myself judging the writers of the sermons I read, or judging Christians generally as I learn more about how the Bible describes the true Christian life. The irony is not lost on me as thoughts along the lines of, "I sure am glad I'm not self-righteous like some of those other Christians" pass through my mind. I repent every time, and ask God to change me, and remove that judmentalism from my own heart.
In my best moments, I remember that we are "we". In the body of Christ, there is no "us" and "them". If Christians are judgmental, "we" are judgmental. If we are not following Jesus as he taught us, "we" are wrong. The Lord's prayer says, "forgive us our sins". When I pray this in solidarity with all my brothers and sisters around the world, it gives me pause. We are a body. If my finely tuned bs-o-meter is catching wind of trouble in the body, that is an occasion for me to pray on behalf of that member, or humbly and graciously seek to help them follow Jesus more truly. If I see all of my brothers and sisters as essential members of this same body, I must reach out in an attitude of grace. Judgment simply cuts me off from the body, rendering me as useless as a disembodied hand.
So I will continue to watch my pronouns. In my heart and in my speech, I want to remember that both the brother I see on television and the sister I see feeding refugees across the world are both "we". I will pray for both, and seek God's healing for our broken body.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Ephesians 4:4:1-6, 15-16, 32 , Mark 14-16
Through the New Testament Reading - Mark 14-16
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 4 – Key Verses Engaged
In Christian community life, all members strike the balance of serving as though they are essential, while being served by others as though they are interdependent. We need one another, and others need us. Each member does their part.
When this is how we understand community, the unity that this passage is talking about becomes essential. It isn't just a nice idea or a romantic notion that we live together and serve one another in unity. This is basic survival. Unity isn't even a goal. Unity is only a basic beginning point, so we can get started being the body of Christ together. When a person's body is done being formed together, all the parts are working, and it has matured, that person begins practicing their occupation in the world. This is basic maturation. Once we get unity down, then we can get to business.
The gift of forgiveness was the missing piece that allowed unity to be possible. Eye for eye justice tears a community apart. Offenses are inevitable. We are imperfect. Without forgiveness, any community can become a complicated network of vengeance and allegiances of convenience. Our own selfishness rots us out from within.
When Jesus took every sin, and every offense onto himself, he opened the door to forgiveness for all of us. Any eye lost has already been repaid. I have been forgiven, so I can forgive. This is the Jesus centred unity of Christian community.
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 4 – Key Verses Engaged
In Christian community life, all members strike the balance of serving as though they are essential, while being served by others as though they are interdependent. We need one another, and others need us. Each member does their part.
When this is how we understand community, the unity that this passage is talking about becomes essential. It isn't just a nice idea or a romantic notion that we live together and serve one another in unity. This is basic survival. Unity isn't even a goal. Unity is only a basic beginning point, so we can get started being the body of Christ together. When a person's body is done being formed together, all the parts are working, and it has matured, that person begins practicing their occupation in the world. This is basic maturation. Once we get unity down, then we can get to business.
The gift of forgiveness was the missing piece that allowed unity to be possible. Eye for eye justice tears a community apart. Offenses are inevitable. We are imperfect. Without forgiveness, any community can become a complicated network of vengeance and allegiances of convenience. Our own selfishness rots us out from within.
When Jesus took every sin, and every offense onto himself, he opened the door to forgiveness for all of us. Any eye lost has already been repaid. I have been forgiven, so I can forgive. This is the Jesus centred unity of Christian community.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Ephesians 4:1-6, 15-16, 32 , Mark 9-13
Through the New Testament Reading - Mark 9-13
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Ephesians 4:1-6 - Following Jesus transcends all other earthly authority. It is of such high importance, even if you should risk prison to do so, a disciple still should follow. If this writer can resist to the point of incarceration, surely those of us in less oppressive conditions can do everything we can to stay in peace with one another. Jesus gives the power to humbly and gently resist the powers of this world. Jesus will also give us the humility to resist our base and selfish desires that would destroy our community with one another. He is at the centre of our community. We are all equal disciples. He empowers each of us to love and serve all the others. We're all going the same direction, and we all need each other to get there. Jesus is the reason we're all in unity, so let's remain in unity for his sake.
Ephesians 4:15-16 - When we recognize that we need one another in this shared life of Christ, we'll have to start communicating well, and communicating often. The best way to grow in community, knowing and understanding each other, and having one another's needs met is by talking. We need to share, and we need to listen. It's cumbersome, I know, but it's the only way that we will truly be able to work together. This isn't about efficiency, as though we're all part of some assembly line just getting the job done. Our community is about love. We serve each other because we love one another, each putting another's needs before their own. This changes our communication even further. I speak and listen with intention and humility. I submit my needs to be served by the body, and serve the other members in their needs. As we do, we each serve Jesus and are served by Jesus, allowing his passions and desires become our own, and growing stronger together as a single body under his headship. Under him, in him, and for him, we grow effective and true, each of us essential as we accomplish his work of love and grace and justice in the world.
Ephesians 4:32 - Jesus is perfect, but we are not. Though we are all growing and maturing, we still live as imperfect people in an imperfect world. We will hurt each other sometimes. When we are hurt in community, it is in community also that we are healed. Jesus forgave us and redeemed us. Now, in community, we will have opportunity to forgive others. In this act, we have our greatest opportunity to look like Jesus. In every offense, we each can become the body of Christ to one another, ministering forgiveness, and remembering again the forgiveness we've each received. Our kindness and compassion toward one another reflects his. Even in our weakness, and especially in our weakness, the character of Jesus is manifest among us.
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Ephesians 4:1-6 - Following Jesus transcends all other earthly authority. It is of such high importance, even if you should risk prison to do so, a disciple still should follow. If this writer can resist to the point of incarceration, surely those of us in less oppressive conditions can do everything we can to stay in peace with one another. Jesus gives the power to humbly and gently resist the powers of this world. Jesus will also give us the humility to resist our base and selfish desires that would destroy our community with one another. He is at the centre of our community. We are all equal disciples. He empowers each of us to love and serve all the others. We're all going the same direction, and we all need each other to get there. Jesus is the reason we're all in unity, so let's remain in unity for his sake.
Ephesians 4:15-16 - When we recognize that we need one another in this shared life of Christ, we'll have to start communicating well, and communicating often. The best way to grow in community, knowing and understanding each other, and having one another's needs met is by talking. We need to share, and we need to listen. It's cumbersome, I know, but it's the only way that we will truly be able to work together. This isn't about efficiency, as though we're all part of some assembly line just getting the job done. Our community is about love. We serve each other because we love one another, each putting another's needs before their own. This changes our communication even further. I speak and listen with intention and humility. I submit my needs to be served by the body, and serve the other members in their needs. As we do, we each serve Jesus and are served by Jesus, allowing his passions and desires become our own, and growing stronger together as a single body under his headship. Under him, in him, and for him, we grow effective and true, each of us essential as we accomplish his work of love and grace and justice in the world.
Ephesians 4:32 - Jesus is perfect, but we are not. Though we are all growing and maturing, we still live as imperfect people in an imperfect world. We will hurt each other sometimes. When we are hurt in community, it is in community also that we are healed. Jesus forgave us and redeemed us. Now, in community, we will have opportunity to forgive others. In this act, we have our greatest opportunity to look like Jesus. In every offense, we each can become the body of Christ to one another, ministering forgiveness, and remembering again the forgiveness we've each received. Our kindness and compassion toward one another reflects his. Even in our weakness, and especially in our weakness, the character of Jesus is manifest among us.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Ephesians 4 - Key verses, Mark 6-8
Through the New Testament Reading - Mark 6-8
Ephesians 4
Day 2 – Key Verses
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4
Day 2 – Key Verses
Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Ephesians 4, Mark 1-5
Through the New Testament Reading - Mark 1-5
(see more notes on Ephesians 4)
Ephesians 4 (NIV 1984)
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
++
++
++
I highly recommend also reading my other notes for Ephesians chapter 4, written a few weeks ago.
My Reflection:
Chapter four begins the second half of the book of Ephesians, turning sharply from the theology of who we are in Christ to the practice of living out our faith in community as the body of Christ. What we do is a reflection of who we are. The two cannot be separated.
The first direction given to the newly formed multiethnic community is that they would be in unity. If we truly believe that God has removed the wall of hostility between us and him through Jesus, and between each other through our mutual faith, we will live this out in our humble and mutual respect and love for one another.
We are a community of the good news of the Kingdom of God. Our relationships of service and mutuality are a reflection to each other and the world of our faith in God's forgiveness, grace, and love. It is no surprise that the very first appeal to our practice of the gospel would be that we remain in unity.
The second half of the chapter contains the second major appeal to the practice of our walk of faith. To the old religious insiders, the letter urges unity and patience. To the new members in community, the letter warns us that life in this community of faith will mean living differently than we did before. We are free to live in community and grace and love. We are not free to sabotage our new community with our old selfish behaviours.
Every effort is to be made to offer grace, patience, forgiveness, and respect for those who are new or weak in faith. Every effort is made by new members to grow in faith and leave those immature, weak, and selfish ways behind. With both sides of this practice given full honour and attention, in and through faith, unity and peace in the body is the result.
(see more notes on Ephesians 4)
Ephesians 4 (NIV 1984)
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
++
++
++
I highly recommend also reading my other notes for Ephesians chapter 4, written a few weeks ago.
My Reflection:
Chapter four begins the second half of the book of Ephesians, turning sharply from the theology of who we are in Christ to the practice of living out our faith in community as the body of Christ. What we do is a reflection of who we are. The two cannot be separated.
The first direction given to the newly formed multiethnic community is that they would be in unity. If we truly believe that God has removed the wall of hostility between us and him through Jesus, and between each other through our mutual faith, we will live this out in our humble and mutual respect and love for one another.
We are a community of the good news of the Kingdom of God. Our relationships of service and mutuality are a reflection to each other and the world of our faith in God's forgiveness, grace, and love. It is no surprise that the very first appeal to our practice of the gospel would be that we remain in unity.
The second half of the chapter contains the second major appeal to the practice of our walk of faith. To the old religious insiders, the letter urges unity and patience. To the new members in community, the letter warns us that life in this community of faith will mean living differently than we did before. We are free to live in community and grace and love. We are not free to sabotage our new community with our old selfish behaviours.
Every effort is to be made to offer grace, patience, forgiveness, and respect for those who are new or weak in faith. Every effort is made by new members to grow in faith and leave those immature, weak, and selfish ways behind. With both sides of this practice given full honour and attention, in and through faith, unity and peace in the body is the result.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Community - 3 God Plants Covenant Community - Abraham and Sarah
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Community Begins With God
The community of the Triune God will be our basis for understanding perfect community
Community – three or more persons in mutual relationship
Godly Community Expresses
1. Joyful Love
2. Humble Unity
3. Mutual Generosity
4. Honesty and Understanding
5. Fruitfulness
Godly love in community is an outward focused love, a love that includes anyone who would receive it.
The Community of God Creates Community
1. God created mankind in his image
2. God created humans to be fruitful
In the beginning, God created from his community a community that had seeds of more community.
The Community of God Redeems Community
1. Godly Community is Horizontal and Vertical (Including God and people)
2. Without God, Natural Community is Selfish Idealism, and Ends in Hostility
3. God Restores Peaceful Community In Jesus
ABRAHAM AND SARAH-THE STORY
Genesis 11-25 tells us the stories of Abraham and Sarah, some of the most widely known stories of any religious text in the world. The stories of Abraham and Sarah and their family have inspired writers, philosophers, religious leaders, and artists for centuries. To this day people continue to explore the depth of meaning in the stories of faith, family, community, sexuality, violence, and redemption. For us, the story of Abraham and Sarah’s faith in the Middle East 2000 years before Christ, over four hundred years before Moses, is the story of the first seeds of the community we participate in today.
Abraham and Sarah - Imperfect people
Like much of Genesis, the stories of Abraham and Sarah are gritty, earthy, and very human in the most honest way. This family is far from perfectly polished and heroic. Motivated by fear and selfishness, Abraham, “the father of faith”, passed his wife off into Pharaoh's harem. As a result of his dubious dealings, he gained a great deal of wealth for his family, the beginning of his fortune, including servants, animals, and tradable goods. The text gives us no indication that he hesitated even a moment at this trade of his own wife. Sarah laughed in disbelief when God gave a promise to give them a son, Isaac, who was then named for her laughter. Both Abraham and Sarah appear entirely selfish and even oppressive in their relationship with their servant, Hagar, whom Abraham impregnates and then later abandons to the desert with her son without support. Let us not paint to rosy or heroic a picture of this ancient family. This is not an exceptional story of an exceptional people. Abraham and Sarah’s story is as raw and hard and as filled with missteps and mistakes as any of ours could be. The only truly good character in these stories is YHWH God, in whom Abraham and Sarah place their faith and trust.
Abraham and Sarah - People of Faith
When commanded by God to show their obedience to him by circumcising every male member of their household, they do so immediately, on the very day the command was given. Abraham's shockingly humble and obedient faith is demonstrated vividly in his willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the mountain of Moriah at God’s command. This story of God’s test and redemption of Isaac with the gift of a ram in his place is one of the most well known and widely told in all religion.
Abraham and Sarah - Chosen People of God’s Covenant
The story of the faith of Abraham and Sarah begins in Genesis chapter 12. Abram (his name at the time) lives with his family in Ur, where he and his father grew up.
Genesis 12:1, 4b - The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you . . . So Abram left, as the LORD had told him.
Leaving home – the great archetypal theme for every story. Every great adventure begins . . . by leaving.
(just for fun)
The Lord of the Rings – An incredible story. An inspiring story. A story about walking.
Abram's story is about walking. God said GO. Go to the land I will show you.
This is Abram’s first dealing with YHWH God. This is the first example of his life of faith. Abram follows a stranger, into a foreign land, to become an immigrant, an outsider. God gives Abram no description of the land, only that he will show him when he gets there. What reason would he have to do such a thing?
Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
God made a promise to Abram. A COVENANT. This was the beginning. Abram and Sarai (Sarah’s old name) believed that what YHWH said was true. We know this, because they obeyed. The evidence of faith is in the action. They LEFT. They left comfort and stability for the adventure of whatever God had for them. They traded what they had for what God promised. It was worth the risk of faith.
God’s promise was that he would make of Abram and Sarai a nation. A new community. And through their community, the whole entire world would be blessed.
James 1:21b-22 - Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Them
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Abraham and Sarah - Chosen With Purpose
God’s seed of community planted in Abram and Sarah was for the purpose of blessing the entire world.
God also promised that those who bless Abram will be blessed, and those who curse Abram will be cursed. God intends for his covenant people to reveal his full nature in the world to the entire world.
Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Psalm 72:17. – all nations or all nations on earth or all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram and/or through Abram’s offspring.
Even before the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, we see Abraham’s family being tremendously blessed, prospering wherever they go, and seeking the prosperity of all those they encounter. Abraham patiently and boldly intercedes for those who will perish at God’s hand in Sodom. On behalf of the wicked, he prays to God for mercy (note – God’s man of faith has a posture intercession to God for the Sodomites). Isaac prepares to make peaceful arrangements with the Philistines in his land. Jacob unselfishly provides generous aid for Laban. Joseph rises in Egypt from a slave to a ruler, and his wisdom causes Egypt to be blessed. Through Egypt under the wise and righteous rule of God’s chosen man, many people in surrounding nations are provided for during a severe famine.
Abraham was also chosen as a prophet of YHWH, representing God to the people of the world, but also interceding, or praying to God on behalf of and for, the healing and wholeness of the people of the world. Abraham does this for Sodom, and also for Abimelech, the Philistine King. God answers Abram’s prayer, and heals Abimelech and his entire household (Genesis 20).
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Them
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Through Abraham and Sarah, God Spread the Seeds of His Community to the World
Ephesians 1
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Much has been said recently about election, God’s sovereign choice of his people. The truth is that there can be no doubt that scripture describes God as the agent in our salvation. And like Abraham and Sarah, this is a sweet salvation, with a good promise. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. However, this sovereign act of God in choosing is not an occasion for boasting, or pride, or lounging in our perceived holiness. On the contrary, God has ordained his people to do his work in the world. God is the agent in our salvation, but he is not the only agent. God plants the seed of his community by his covenant promise, but we actively receive that seed in our obedience to live as his agents in the world. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10). We have been called out from the land of our parents, from this world of apathy, greed, self-indulgence, and deception, into a new land, a heavenly kingdom. We have been given a new family, and a new citizenship. As God’s community, we are not called to a life of privilege, but a life of responsibility to God and service to the world. We live and serve and promote the justice, peace, grace, and love of the kingdom of Heaven now.
(Abraham and Sarah – Grow in Their Faith in God’s Covenant
Gen 12 – God says he will make them a nation, tells them to go to a land, and they leave.
Gen 13, 14 – Abram and his cousin Lot separate. Abram goes to Canaan. Lot goes to Sodom.
Gen 15 – God promises to give Abram land. Abram believes. God passes through Abram’s sacrifice.
Gen 16 – Abram impregnates Sarai’s servant Hagar to try to fulfill God’s promise on his own.
Gen 17 – God promises Abram a great family, changes his name to Abraham, changes Sarai’s name to Sarah, and commands Abram to circumcise all males in his house. Everyone male is circumcised, including Ishmael, the son of Hagar, Sarah’s servant.
Gen 18, 19 – Visitors tell Abraham and Sarah they will have a son. Sarah laughs in disbelief. Abraham intercedes on behalf of Sodom to not be destroyed. His family in Sodom is spared. Sodom is destroyed.
Gen 20 – Abraham lies about Sarah, allowing her to be taken in by a philistine king. When the king’s family becomes ill, Abraham intercedes for them, and they are healed.
Gen 21 – TWENTY-FIVE YEARS after God’s promise in Genesis 12, Isaac is born, the son of covenant. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. God keeps them safe and blesses them, as Abraham asked.
Gen 22 – God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Moriah. Abraham is obedient. God spares Isaac.
Gen 25 – Abraham dies. His sons Isaac and Ishmael bury him together in a cave near a Hittite’s field. One hundred years after God’s promise in Genesis 12. This is the only piece of land that Abraham ever owns.)
Abraham and Sarah – The Seed of Covenant Community Fulfilled in Jesus
In Genesis 15, it says that Abram believed God, and God credited it to him as righteousness. God changed Abrams name, and he also changed Sarai’s name, including her in the covenant. God’s covenant is secure, and it is received by faith, outside of any works of our own. Before Abraham was ever circumcised, God called him righteous, because God made a covenant, and Abraham believed.
Galatians 3:6-9
Consider Abraham. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
After this promise, the story continues to tell us of Abraham laying out animals in halves on the ground. God’s presence passes through the animals, and Abraham knew that God would keep his promise. This covenant was an ancient tradition that Abram would have known and understood (JEREMIAH 34:18-19).
When men made this covenant of walking through the dead animal pieces, they invoked a curse upon themselves should they break the agreement. Just as they had cut a calf in two, so they should be cut in two if they violated the agreement. For Abram, this was as though YHWH himself had said “As collateral, I place upon this covenant the promise of my own self being cut open, and my own blood spilled.”
Galatians 3:7-9, 13-18, 23
7-9 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
13-18 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
23-29 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
We are also the seed of the promise.
(Hebrews 11:8-10, 39-40
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.)
We are seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, representing the blessing of the eternal community to everyone, everywhere. We have been called with a promise, sealed by the blood of God himself. We have been sent with a purpose. We are the salt of the Earth, and the light of the world. The seed of Heaven is alive and active in the world through us by faith. We are chosen and sealed with a responsibility to God and service to the world. We are blessed to be a blessing to the entire world, spreading seeds of the kingdom wherever we go.
Ephesians 1:18-23
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
(prayers for Ben and Joel as they leave us)
Lord, God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 153, Evening Vespers, Augsburg, 1978
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Abraham and Sarah
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Through Abraham and Sarah, God Spread the Seeds of His Community to the World
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
Through Jesus, God’s Covenant Plants the Seed of His Community in Us
Our Faith, Shown by Our Obedience, Receives the Seed God Plants
Through Us, God Spreads the Seeds of His Community to the World
(next week: God Directs Community)
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Community Begins With God
The community of the Triune God will be our basis for understanding perfect community
Community – three or more persons in mutual relationship
Godly Community Expresses
1. Joyful Love
2. Humble Unity
3. Mutual Generosity
4. Honesty and Understanding
5. Fruitfulness
Godly love in community is an outward focused love, a love that includes anyone who would receive it.
The Community of God Creates Community
1. God created mankind in his image
2. God created humans to be fruitful
In the beginning, God created from his community a community that had seeds of more community.
The Community of God Redeems Community
1. Godly Community is Horizontal and Vertical (Including God and people)
2. Without God, Natural Community is Selfish Idealism, and Ends in Hostility
3. God Restores Peaceful Community In Jesus
ABRAHAM AND SARAH-THE STORY
Genesis 11-25 tells us the stories of Abraham and Sarah, some of the most widely known stories of any religious text in the world. The stories of Abraham and Sarah and their family have inspired writers, philosophers, religious leaders, and artists for centuries. To this day people continue to explore the depth of meaning in the stories of faith, family, community, sexuality, violence, and redemption. For us, the story of Abraham and Sarah’s faith in the Middle East 2000 years before Christ, over four hundred years before Moses, is the story of the first seeds of the community we participate in today.
Abraham and Sarah - Imperfect people
Like much of Genesis, the stories of Abraham and Sarah are gritty, earthy, and very human in the most honest way. This family is far from perfectly polished and heroic. Motivated by fear and selfishness, Abraham, “the father of faith”, passed his wife off into Pharaoh's harem. As a result of his dubious dealings, he gained a great deal of wealth for his family, the beginning of his fortune, including servants, animals, and tradable goods. The text gives us no indication that he hesitated even a moment at this trade of his own wife. Sarah laughed in disbelief when God gave a promise to give them a son, Isaac, who was then named for her laughter. Both Abraham and Sarah appear entirely selfish and even oppressive in their relationship with their servant, Hagar, whom Abraham impregnates and then later abandons to the desert with her son without support. Let us not paint to rosy or heroic a picture of this ancient family. This is not an exceptional story of an exceptional people. Abraham and Sarah’s story is as raw and hard and as filled with missteps and mistakes as any of ours could be. The only truly good character in these stories is YHWH God, in whom Abraham and Sarah place their faith and trust.
Abraham and Sarah - People of Faith
When commanded by God to show their obedience to him by circumcising every male member of their household, they do so immediately, on the very day the command was given. Abraham's shockingly humble and obedient faith is demonstrated vividly in his willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the mountain of Moriah at God’s command. This story of God’s test and redemption of Isaac with the gift of a ram in his place is one of the most well known and widely told in all religion.
Abraham and Sarah - Chosen People of God’s Covenant
The story of the faith of Abraham and Sarah begins in Genesis chapter 12. Abram (his name at the time) lives with his family in Ur, where he and his father grew up.
Genesis 12:1, 4b - The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you . . . So Abram left, as the LORD had told him.
Leaving home – the great archetypal theme for every story. Every great adventure begins . . . by leaving.
(just for fun)
The Lord of the Rings – An incredible story. An inspiring story. A story about walking.
Abram's story is about walking. God said GO. Go to the land I will show you.
This is Abram’s first dealing with YHWH God. This is the first example of his life of faith. Abram follows a stranger, into a foreign land, to become an immigrant, an outsider. God gives Abram no description of the land, only that he will show him when he gets there. What reason would he have to do such a thing?
Genesis 12:2-3
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
God made a promise to Abram. A COVENANT. This was the beginning. Abram and Sarai (Sarah’s old name) believed that what YHWH said was true. We know this, because they obeyed. The evidence of faith is in the action. They LEFT. They left comfort and stability for the adventure of whatever God had for them. They traded what they had for what God promised. It was worth the risk of faith.
God’s promise was that he would make of Abram and Sarai a nation. A new community. And through their community, the whole entire world would be blessed.
James 1:21b-22 - Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Them
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Abraham and Sarah - Chosen With Purpose
God’s seed of community planted in Abram and Sarah was for the purpose of blessing the entire world.
God also promised that those who bless Abram will be blessed, and those who curse Abram will be cursed. God intends for his covenant people to reveal his full nature in the world to the entire world.
Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Psalm 72:17. – all nations or all nations on earth or all peoples on earth will be blessed through Abram and/or through Abram’s offspring.
Even before the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, we see Abraham’s family being tremendously blessed, prospering wherever they go, and seeking the prosperity of all those they encounter. Abraham patiently and boldly intercedes for those who will perish at God’s hand in Sodom. On behalf of the wicked, he prays to God for mercy (note – God’s man of faith has a posture intercession to God for the Sodomites). Isaac prepares to make peaceful arrangements with the Philistines in his land. Jacob unselfishly provides generous aid for Laban. Joseph rises in Egypt from a slave to a ruler, and his wisdom causes Egypt to be blessed. Through Egypt under the wise and righteous rule of God’s chosen man, many people in surrounding nations are provided for during a severe famine.
Abraham was also chosen as a prophet of YHWH, representing God to the people of the world, but also interceding, or praying to God on behalf of and for, the healing and wholeness of the people of the world. Abraham does this for Sodom, and also for Abimelech, the Philistine King. God answers Abram’s prayer, and heals Abimelech and his entire household (Genesis 20).
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Them
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Through Abraham and Sarah, God Spread the Seeds of His Community to the World
Ephesians 1
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Much has been said recently about election, God’s sovereign choice of his people. The truth is that there can be no doubt that scripture describes God as the agent in our salvation. And like Abraham and Sarah, this is a sweet salvation, with a good promise. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. However, this sovereign act of God in choosing is not an occasion for boasting, or pride, or lounging in our perceived holiness. On the contrary, God has ordained his people to do his work in the world. God is the agent in our salvation, but he is not the only agent. God plants the seed of his community by his covenant promise, but we actively receive that seed in our obedience to live as his agents in the world. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10). We have been called out from the land of our parents, from this world of apathy, greed, self-indulgence, and deception, into a new land, a heavenly kingdom. We have been given a new family, and a new citizenship. As God’s community, we are not called to a life of privilege, but a life of responsibility to God and service to the world. We live and serve and promote the justice, peace, grace, and love of the kingdom of Heaven now.
(Abraham and Sarah – Grow in Their Faith in God’s Covenant
Gen 12 – God says he will make them a nation, tells them to go to a land, and they leave.
Gen 13, 14 – Abram and his cousin Lot separate. Abram goes to Canaan. Lot goes to Sodom.
Gen 15 – God promises to give Abram land. Abram believes. God passes through Abram’s sacrifice.
Gen 16 – Abram impregnates Sarai’s servant Hagar to try to fulfill God’s promise on his own.
Gen 17 – God promises Abram a great family, changes his name to Abraham, changes Sarai’s name to Sarah, and commands Abram to circumcise all males in his house. Everyone male is circumcised, including Ishmael, the son of Hagar, Sarah’s servant.
Gen 18, 19 – Visitors tell Abraham and Sarah they will have a son. Sarah laughs in disbelief. Abraham intercedes on behalf of Sodom to not be destroyed. His family in Sodom is spared. Sodom is destroyed.
Gen 20 – Abraham lies about Sarah, allowing her to be taken in by a philistine king. When the king’s family becomes ill, Abraham intercedes for them, and they are healed.
Gen 21 – TWENTY-FIVE YEARS after God’s promise in Genesis 12, Isaac is born, the son of covenant. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away. God keeps them safe and blesses them, as Abraham asked.
Gen 22 – God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Moriah. Abraham is obedient. God spares Isaac.
Gen 25 – Abraham dies. His sons Isaac and Ishmael bury him together in a cave near a Hittite’s field. One hundred years after God’s promise in Genesis 12. This is the only piece of land that Abraham ever owns.)
Abraham and Sarah – The Seed of Covenant Community Fulfilled in Jesus
In Genesis 15, it says that Abram believed God, and God credited it to him as righteousness. God changed Abrams name, and he also changed Sarai’s name, including her in the covenant. God’s covenant is secure, and it is received by faith, outside of any works of our own. Before Abraham was ever circumcised, God called him righteous, because God made a covenant, and Abraham believed.
Galatians 3:6-9
Consider Abraham. He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
After this promise, the story continues to tell us of Abraham laying out animals in halves on the ground. God’s presence passes through the animals, and Abraham knew that God would keep his promise. This covenant was an ancient tradition that Abram would have known and understood (JEREMIAH 34:18-19).
When men made this covenant of walking through the dead animal pieces, they invoked a curse upon themselves should they break the agreement. Just as they had cut a calf in two, so they should be cut in two if they violated the agreement. For Abram, this was as though YHWH himself had said “As collateral, I place upon this covenant the promise of my own self being cut open, and my own blood spilled.”
Galatians 3:7-9, 13-18, 23
7-9 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
13-18 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
23-29 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
We are also the seed of the promise.
(Hebrews 11:8-10, 39-40
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.)
We are seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, representing the blessing of the eternal community to everyone, everywhere. We have been called with a promise, sealed by the blood of God himself. We have been sent with a purpose. We are the salt of the Earth, and the light of the world. The seed of Heaven is alive and active in the world through us by faith. We are chosen and sealed with a responsibility to God and service to the world. We are blessed to be a blessing to the entire world, spreading seeds of the kingdom wherever we go.
Ephesians 1:18-23
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
(prayers for Ben and Joel as they leave us)
Lord, God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 153, Evening Vespers, Augsburg, 1978
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
God’s Covenant Planted the Seed of His Community in Abraham and Sarah
Their Faith, Shown by Their Obedience, Received the Seed God Planted
Through Abraham and Sarah, God Spread the Seeds of His Community to the World
Jesus IS the Seed of the Covenant of God’s Community
Through Jesus, God’s Covenant Plants the Seed of His Community in Us
Our Faith, Shown by Our Obedience, Receives the Seed God Plants
Through Us, God Spreads the Seeds of His Community to the World
(next week: God Directs Community)
Power of Love - Music Video - Sermon - Eph3:14-21
Just for fun . . . tongue planted firmly in cheek:
and . . . the short sermon that I never ended up preaching. My sincere apologies to Huey Lewis and the News:
The Power of Love
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The power of love is a curious thing. It makes one man weep, and another man sing. Change a hawk, to a little white dove. More than a feeling. That’s the power of love.
The love of God transcends any human love. He loves so deeply that the power of it can bring the hardest heart to salvation, and the deepest of enemies into the same family.
Planted in our hearts, the power of God can work through us to accomplish more than we ever imagined.
God’s Power
vv14-17 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
You don't need money, don't need fame. You don't need a credit card to ride this train. It's strong and it's sudden and it seems cruel sometimes. But it might just save your life.
God’s power was demonstrated in his great love for us through Christ. Though we were helpless in our sin, Jesus willingly came and took the full wrath of God on himself on the cross. He died, but he rose again. That same power that would willingly redeem the entire world through love, that would conquer death, went through the grave and out the other side to dwell inside of you.
No matter how helpless or insecure or unworthy you may believe yourself to be, God’s power is available for you. Before you ever did anything, right or wrong, faith filled or villainous, God prepared to be united with you, and to use his power through you for his eternal, perfect purposes.
God’s Love
vv18-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
But you know what to do when it gets hold of you. With a little help from above you feel the power of love. It changes a hawk to a little white dove. More than a feeling. That’s the power of love.
God’s love is a powerful force, wider than any chasm between enemies, waiting longer than you would ever run from it, going deeper than you would ever fall from it, lifting you higher than you could ever go without it. When you receive the spirit of Christ by faith, his power changes you from the inside out, allowing you to know a love that is unknowable. His love is the source that the roots of your life drink from. His love is the fruit displayed in your life when you establish yourself in him. It gets ahold of you, and you are consumed by it.
Our Worship
vv20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
First time you feel it, it might make you sad. Next time you feel it, it might make you mad. But you'll be glad baby when you've found that it’s the power that makes the world go 'round.
God has an intention and a purpose and a plan for you. He loves you, and he empowers you. When we are truly rooted and grounded in the love of God by faith in Jesus, our heart and life explodes with rapturous joy at the knowledge of his goodness. The highest authority in all of heaven and earth has chosen you, loved you, dwells inside you. Nothing is impossible for God. Through faith in him, he will accomplish through us his mission on earth, which is greater than anything we can plan, or learn, or hope, or ask of him, or even imagine. Another translation says that he will accomplish more through us than we ask in our highest prayers.
The power and love of God are received by faith (our roots in the Bible and the Spirit), and activated through our lives in our practice and obedience to his call (our fruits from a life of worship).
We are obedient and faithful. Whatever he asks, we will do, and we are able through him who loves us.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
God’s Power. God’s Love. Our Worship.
To him be glory in us and in Jesus forever.
Amen.
and . . . the short sermon that I never ended up preaching. My sincere apologies to Huey Lewis and the News:
The Power of Love
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
The power of love is a curious thing. It makes one man weep, and another man sing. Change a hawk, to a little white dove. More than a feeling. That’s the power of love.
The love of God transcends any human love. He loves so deeply that the power of it can bring the hardest heart to salvation, and the deepest of enemies into the same family.
Planted in our hearts, the power of God can work through us to accomplish more than we ever imagined.
God’s Power
vv14-17 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
You don't need money, don't need fame. You don't need a credit card to ride this train. It's strong and it's sudden and it seems cruel sometimes. But it might just save your life.
God’s power was demonstrated in his great love for us through Christ. Though we were helpless in our sin, Jesus willingly came and took the full wrath of God on himself on the cross. He died, but he rose again. That same power that would willingly redeem the entire world through love, that would conquer death, went through the grave and out the other side to dwell inside of you.
No matter how helpless or insecure or unworthy you may believe yourself to be, God’s power is available for you. Before you ever did anything, right or wrong, faith filled or villainous, God prepared to be united with you, and to use his power through you for his eternal, perfect purposes.
God’s Love
vv18-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
But you know what to do when it gets hold of you. With a little help from above you feel the power of love. It changes a hawk to a little white dove. More than a feeling. That’s the power of love.
God’s love is a powerful force, wider than any chasm between enemies, waiting longer than you would ever run from it, going deeper than you would ever fall from it, lifting you higher than you could ever go without it. When you receive the spirit of Christ by faith, his power changes you from the inside out, allowing you to know a love that is unknowable. His love is the source that the roots of your life drink from. His love is the fruit displayed in your life when you establish yourself in him. It gets ahold of you, and you are consumed by it.
Our Worship
vv20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
First time you feel it, it might make you sad. Next time you feel it, it might make you mad. But you'll be glad baby when you've found that it’s the power that makes the world go 'round.
God has an intention and a purpose and a plan for you. He loves you, and he empowers you. When we are truly rooted and grounded in the love of God by faith in Jesus, our heart and life explodes with rapturous joy at the knowledge of his goodness. The highest authority in all of heaven and earth has chosen you, loved you, dwells inside you. Nothing is impossible for God. Through faith in him, he will accomplish through us his mission on earth, which is greater than anything we can plan, or learn, or hope, or ask of him, or even imagine. Another translation says that he will accomplish more through us than we ask in our highest prayers.
The power and love of God are received by faith (our roots in the Bible and the Spirit), and activated through our lives in our practice and obedience to his call (our fruits from a life of worship).
We are obedient and faithful. Whatever he asks, we will do, and we are able through him who loves us.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
God’s Power. God’s Love. Our Worship.
To him be glory in us and in Jesus forever.
Amen.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Ephesians 3, Galatians 1-6
Through the New Testament Reading - Galatians 1-6
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 5 – My Personal Response to Ephesians 3
The story of Jesus is reconciliation and redemption through sacrifice. God want to all lengths possible to pave the way for our reconciliation. If I believe that I am now united with Jesus, and carry his Spirit, I am able to also go to the furthest length to allow for reconciliation between myself and those I've broken relationship with. Also, I can minister this reconciliation to others and in the world.
I have a person in my life with whom I have a strained relationship. I love and respect this person, but our disagreements on a particular issue led to a drift between us. I have reached out an olive branch to restore the relationship, but I have not outright pursued restoration and forgiveness to its fullest. This week, I will do that. I know that reconciliation goes both ways, so I will not mark my success or failure by it. It isn't entirely up to me. However, I can humbly initiate the conversations that may allow healing to occur.
The Bible says that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. It also calls us enemies of God before redemption. However, the story of Jesus is that he did not treat us as enemies, or according to our sin, but in love he instead took all the hostility between us into himself, the wrath of God, and the wrath of man, and overcame it. He restored us to God, but he also restored humanity to one another, even breaking down the wall between those who were once religious "insiders" and pagan "outsiders".
I love hero stories. I love antihero stories. I may prefer the latter. In any case, I like the story where good people triumph over evil people. But this story isn't like that. In this story of reconciliation, the enemies are treated as friends and brothers, and in that sacrificial love redemption occurs. So, despite my temptation to do otherwise, I will no longer frame my stories of conflict into heroes and villains. I will encourage and seek reconciliation, grieving even for the black and stony heart of even the most oppressive and evil actor in a conflict. I will appeal to God's love for the common humanity of every person, First Nations or Police Officer, Squatter or Landowner, Palestinian or Israeli Defense Force. All are marked with the Imago Dei, the Image of God. As I seek to speak and minister reconciliation personally and globally, I will communicate in my speech and actions God's desire to see both the oppressed and the oppressor free of oppression, for both are bound. I will stretch my faith to believe that God's love can reach as far as to forgive those whom I perceive to be an enemy. I will humbly ask him to do so through me.
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 5 – My Personal Response to Ephesians 3
The story of Jesus is reconciliation and redemption through sacrifice. God want to all lengths possible to pave the way for our reconciliation. If I believe that I am now united with Jesus, and carry his Spirit, I am able to also go to the furthest length to allow for reconciliation between myself and those I've broken relationship with. Also, I can minister this reconciliation to others and in the world.
I have a person in my life with whom I have a strained relationship. I love and respect this person, but our disagreements on a particular issue led to a drift between us. I have reached out an olive branch to restore the relationship, but I have not outright pursued restoration and forgiveness to its fullest. This week, I will do that. I know that reconciliation goes both ways, so I will not mark my success or failure by it. It isn't entirely up to me. However, I can humbly initiate the conversations that may allow healing to occur.
The Bible says that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. It also calls us enemies of God before redemption. However, the story of Jesus is that he did not treat us as enemies, or according to our sin, but in love he instead took all the hostility between us into himself, the wrath of God, and the wrath of man, and overcame it. He restored us to God, but he also restored humanity to one another, even breaking down the wall between those who were once religious "insiders" and pagan "outsiders".
I love hero stories. I love antihero stories. I may prefer the latter. In any case, I like the story where good people triumph over evil people. But this story isn't like that. In this story of reconciliation, the enemies are treated as friends and brothers, and in that sacrificial love redemption occurs. So, despite my temptation to do otherwise, I will no longer frame my stories of conflict into heroes and villains. I will encourage and seek reconciliation, grieving even for the black and stony heart of even the most oppressive and evil actor in a conflict. I will appeal to God's love for the common humanity of every person, First Nations or Police Officer, Squatter or Landowner, Palestinian or Israeli Defense Force. All are marked with the Imago Dei, the Image of God. As I seek to speak and minister reconciliation personally and globally, I will communicate in my speech and actions God's desire to see both the oppressed and the oppressor free of oppression, for both are bound. I will stretch my faith to believe that God's love can reach as far as to forgive those whom I perceive to be an enemy. I will humbly ask him to do so through me.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Ephesians 3:6, 17b-19, 20-21, 2 Corinthians 10-13
Through the New Testament Reading - 2 Corinthians 10-13
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 4 – Key Verses Engaged
As I participate in the love Jesus has for my neighbours, my roots in his love will grow deeper and stronger, enabling me to understand and express that love even more fully and authentically.
My love is limited. God's love is not. I want my ability to love and serve humanity to be expanded. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, bringing glory to God for how we, the church, bless the world.
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 4 – Key Verses Engaged
As I participate in the love Jesus has for my neighbours, my roots in his love will grow deeper and stronger, enabling me to understand and express that love even more fully and authentically.
My love is limited. God's love is not. I want my ability to love and serve humanity to be expanded. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, bringing glory to God for how we, the church, bless the world.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Ephesians 3:6, 17b-19, 20-21, 2 Corinthians 4-9
Through the New Testament Reading - 2 Corinthians 4-9
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Ephesians 3:6 - Everyone is now able to receive the good grace of God, the gift to be fully received by God, and the power to live as he intended, no matter who they are, where they've come from, or what they've done. The most unlikely and outside person can share in deep community with the insider religious person who's lived their whole life serving God. In Christ, both stand before God equally redeemed, and equally free.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - I pray that the love you walk in and experience in God together, as you share this common life with others, and see how big God's love can be through his presence in their life, will open your eye to just how huge his love really is. If he can love those people around you, even in their imperfections, surely he can love you. As you get to really know this, I hope you get to really know even how much bigger than knowing is this love. I pray that you would receive it in all its' fullness, getting every last drop of this incredible love that he is so willing to pour into and all over you.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - All glory to God who would love even his enemies, even us, who would love even our enemies, who would love us through our enemies, and our enemies through us, who would make us family, who would redeem the irredeemable and love the unloveable, who would make even scoundrels like us into supernatural ministers of grace, who would give us the desire to be such ministers, despite ourselves, and would choose to use this motley crew to spread his message of reconciliation to the world. All glory to him who can do even more than this through us, of all people, even more than we ever thought possible, and more than we can imagine as possible now. For now and for all eternity, may this new family on earth be the best reflection of this God of love, pointing all praise and glory toward him through these lives and relationships he's graciously restored. Glory to him for all who came before us and shared this good news with us. Glory to him for all who will hear this message from us and also be restored, forever and ever. Yes!
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 3:6 - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Day 3 – Key Verses Considered
Ephesians 3:6 - Everyone is now able to receive the good grace of God, the gift to be fully received by God, and the power to live as he intended, no matter who they are, where they've come from, or what they've done. The most unlikely and outside person can share in deep community with the insider religious person who's lived their whole life serving God. In Christ, both stand before God equally redeemed, and equally free.
Ephesians 3:17b-19 - I pray that the love you walk in and experience in God together, as you share this common life with others, and see how big God's love can be through his presence in their life, will open your eye to just how huge his love really is. If he can love those people around you, even in their imperfections, surely he can love you. As you get to really know this, I hope you get to really know even how much bigger than knowing is this love. I pray that you would receive it in all its' fullness, getting every last drop of this incredible love that he is so willing to pour into and all over you.
Ephesians 3:20-21 - All glory to God who would love even his enemies, even us, who would love even our enemies, who would love us through our enemies, and our enemies through us, who would make us family, who would redeem the irredeemable and love the unloveable, who would make even scoundrels like us into supernatural ministers of grace, who would give us the desire to be such ministers, despite ourselves, and would choose to use this motley crew to spread his message of reconciliation to the world. All glory to him who can do even more than this through us, of all people, even more than we ever thought possible, and more than we can imagine as possible now. For now and for all eternity, may this new family on earth be the best reflection of this God of love, pointing all praise and glory toward him through these lives and relationships he's graciously restored. Glory to him for all who came before us and shared this good news with us. Glory to him for all who will hear this message from us and also be restored, forever and ever. Yes!
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