So far in our Sunday evening study of Theology, we have talked about the church and our part in God’s mission and who God is. Currently we are thinking about who Jesus is and what He does. As we gradually put these pieces together, we see a bigger picture come into focus.

“Individualism saturates American culture to the point that we no longer notice it. Individualism tells us we can become more like Jesus by ourselves, through a self-help program or more effort. But the gospel tells us transformation happens as we embrace the work of the Spirit in our lives together. Becoming more like Jesus is not a matter of trying but yielding, setting the sails of our lives to catch the wind of the Spirit. It happens when we develop a communal rhythm of life—a collection of thick, bodily (church) practices that engage our senses, grab our hearts, form our identities and reshape our desires toward God and his kingdom. As we collectively engage in grace-filled spiritual practices, we cultivate particular environments that help to create a missional culture, which in turn reshapes us.”

Belonging can be a conundrum. At Southwest, we have a large number of members who have extended family who are also members. I have been here for over five years, and it is not unusual even now to find out about a member’s family relation to another member that I was unaware of. Many churches are like this. This means many church members are already very connected through family bonds, but some of us might struggle finding a place to belong.

• Consistent worship service attendance: Obviously the focus of our worship time should be coming before God to glorify Him. His grace provides blessings to us during that time as well. Being there connects us with the mission and direction of the church. It is a time to be encouraged and a time to be together.
• Bible class or group participation: Worship service attendance is just the starting point of our weekly connection. Bible class takes that attendance to another level by increasing the depth of our Bible study. It also serves as another group connection with fewer people. This provides an opportunity for interaction and accountability.
• Fellowship: Meals and activities at the church building are a good starting point, but true fellowship moves beyond that. In Acts 2:46, church members were together “day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.” Don’t wait for the next church-wide fellowship event. Spend time getting to know someone better.
• Ministry involvement: This is more than just the people we see up front on Sundays. There are numerous areas where you can serve and maybe even some we have not thought of yet. The teachings of Jesus were never intended to simply give more knowledge. They are things to be put into practice. When we work together, we make lasting bonds.

In 2020, I first asked you the question, “Who’s your one?” We talked about it from time to time, had a box full of names in the foyer, prayed for people by name and saw some of our ones visit and even be baptized into Christ. Most weeks the question has remained on the back page of our bulletin. Since we have added new faces over the years, and some of us just need a reminder; I thought it might be a good time to explain again what the question is about and why it matters.

• Make a list of people in your circle of influence for whom you will pray.
• Seek to model a Christ-honoring life before them.
• As you interact with them, attempt to understand their world—their hopes, frustrations and fears.
• Build friendships with them and the significant people in their lives—especially their family.
• Watch for opportunities to serve the people and their families for whom you are praying.
• Seize every opportunity to tell the story of what Jesus has done for you and for them.

On Sunday evenings this year we are looking at several topics dealing with aspects of theology. For the first five weeks, we talked about the church and its mission. We have asked and answered the question, “Who are we and what are we here for?” Starting this Sunday evening, we will spend several weeks talking about who God is and who He is not. When I consider this topic, I am reminded of a quote from A.W. Tozer that I heard several years ago. “What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

“In his extensive study of youth and religion, Smith concluded that MTD (moralistic therapeutic deism)–with it’s range of variations–tends to be the operative religion of American young people in the twenty-first century. This new reduced Christianity has three features: it is

 

Moralistic–God wants be to be a good person.

 

Therapeutic–God or religion should help me feel good.

 

Deistic–God is a concept to adorn our lives but not an agent who really does anything.”

– Brian

Last Sunday morning, we looked at Luke’s account of the calling of the apostles of Jesus. Every time I consider these twelve men, I think of how differently I would have chosen them. I have always thought to myself that Jesus knew what He was doing and saw things in these men that I did not. After all, to Israel Saul looked much more like a king than David did. God saw something else. What had not occurred to me until recently is that whether Jesus saw something in them or not, He was not alone in the choice of who or how many. It was the Father’s plan. Henry and Richard Blackaby point this out in their book, Spiritual Leadership.

“Scripture says Jesus spent an entire night praying before he singled out his disciples. (Luke 6:12-13) On the night of his crucifixion, Jesus reiterated that the Father had chosen the disciples. (John 17:6-7) Jesus did not choose twelve disciples as a matter of strategy. Nor was twelve an optimum number Jesus calculated for pedagogical reasons. He had a dozen disciples for one reason only: that’s how many his Father gave him. Would Jesus have included Judas if he were simply implementing a discipleship strategy designed to multiply his efforts? No. Judas was given to Jesus as a part of God the Father’s redemptive plan. According to Jesus, even the teaching he gave his disciples came from the Father (John 6:49–50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8).”

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.”   – John 17:6-7

This week I read an interview about how churches often struggle to work within an increasingly secular culture. One statement made by Canadian theology scholar Geoffrey Ready really stuck out to me.

“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” – Acts 4:32a

During my recent tour of historical sites and museums related to the civil rights movement, a question echoed in my mind several times: “How does this happen?” Of course that question brought up others. How do people see other groups as less than human? Why are there not more people who stand against injustice? As uncomfortable as that era of history might be to consider, there are many more like it. How does this happen?

“He does not merely note that humanity is ‘full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, [and] maliciousness,’ (verse 29) then blame all that injustice on society and dream up a utopian political solution the way Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels did. Paul does not look at the bad fruit on the human tree and then suggest replanting it in the different soil of some new political ideology. Paul knows that the human tree is so hopelessly sick that whatever soil you plant it in, toxic fruit will form. No amount of political revolution, social engineering, or policy tweaking will stop envy, strife, deceit, and maliciousness from sprouting out of our sick hearts. Why were all the utopias of the modern era doomed to fail? Because the evil did not originate in politics, society, or the economy. It is expressed there, but evil originates in human hearts that ‘exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.’ This, then, is how Paul adds deeper hues to our picture of injustice. Look deep enough underneath any horizontal human-against-human injustice and you will always find a vertical human-against-God injustice, a refusal to give the Creator the worship only the Creator is due. All injustice is a violation of the first commandment.”

“You shall have no other gods before me.”   – Exodus 20:3