Where Faith Begins (and Revives) // September 10, 2023

What is it about Abraham and his story that speaks to so many people throughout human history? The apostle Paul tells us clearly that it is his faith (Rom 4:11-12). Perhaps more than any other place in the Bible, Abraham shows us what it looks like to live by faith in real, everyday life. This Fall, we look to the story of Abraham to bring us into a season of new and renewed faith. We begin by looking at where such a model and example of faith came from. By looking at Abraham’s “origin story”, we can learn some surprising lessons on where God brings about and renews our faith when we ask: Where (ie in what kind of place, in what kind of people, through what kind of plans) does faith begin, get strengthened, go deeper, and revive?

1. In Places of No (or Little) Faith

The story of Abram (later renamed Abraham) begins at a turning point in the book of Genesis. After the Fall into sin, the Flood, and the scattering after the Tower of Babel, it is no surprise to find humanity is in a very depressing place. But our God loves to work in such places. David Clines reminds us that “no matter how drastic man’s sin [or situation] becomes, destroying what God has made good and bringing the world to the brink of uncreation, God’s grace never fails to deliver man from the consequences of his sin… God’s commitment to his world stands firm.” God called Abram and his family out of a place of no (or little) faith, right where most of us would not expect. God can bring about faith in places where we see none. 

2. In People without Resources

If God were to pick any couple to begin a great nation of people, it certainly doesn’t seem Abram and Sarai (later renamed Sarah) fit the description. Something painfully emphasized in v. 30 is Sarai’s barrenness. Anytime the Bible mentions barrenness, it points to something very personal and painful but also to something very central about how faith works. As George Mueller once proclaimed, “Faith begins where our power ends.” Abram and Sarai could not look to their own situation, power, or resources for help. God blessed them with His resources. We might be prone to forget this today, especially for people who have a lot of resources. We must become “barren” (poor in spirit) for our faith to turn away from self to God.

3. In Plans that Didn’t Work Out

We must never forget that this is a family story, albeit a troubled one. Their origin story could be called a  “dark introduction.” We see a family of confused religious convictions, a father who failed to take them where he intended, a marriage without the promise of children, and even death among family members. However, what seemed to Abram like a failed plan for a troubled family was an essential part of God’s plan for a bright future. As we have seen elsewhere in the Bible, God loves to act where human plans have failed. God can work in plans that look like failures to us to bring about renewed faith and preparation for His plans.

4. Through Someone Willing to Pioneer

It wouldn’t be a turning point without Abram’s response to a hopeless situation. The Lord told Abram to “go,” and we read the action that changed human history forever: “So Abram went” (Gen 12:1, 4). All it takes is one willing to pioneer, to blaze a trail of faith when everything seems wrong. Abram did this not by looking inside himself but outside to God. The first lesson of faith is that it begins or revives by looking beyond ourselves. 

Hebrews reminds us that Abraham was the pioneer of faith and that he points us to a greater pioneer, Jesus Christ. God the Father commanded Jesus the Son to “go” to a place of no faith, letting go of all his resources in order to carry out a plan that would appear to be an utter failure. So Jesus went. Should we find ourselves discouraged, we need not look to our place, resources, or plans. We look to Jesus, whose joy in enduring the cross was to pioneer for us a faith that will endure forever.

QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. How would you describe the place you are right now in your faith? struggling faith? strong faith? doubting faith? no faith? How does it encourage you to know Abram’s “backstory” that he came from a place of no (or very little) faith in God? 

3. How would you describe the place our culture is at when it comes to the Christian faith? How can Abram’s story give us hope when living in a place that is hostile or indifferent to faith in Christ? 

4. Why does the text emphasize the barrenness of Sarai? Why does God choose a couple that can’t have children to be ones he will through whom he will build a great nation? What does this teach us about the nature of faith?

5. Do you have an example of a “Plan A” of yours that isn’t working out now or didn’t work out (in the past)? How does Abram and Sarai’s story help us gain perspective on what God might be doing? 

6. Out of such a bleak situation, Abram became a pioneer. How did he go in faith despite it all? He looked outside of himself. How is Jesus the greater Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)? What difference does it make when our faith is weak and struggling to know he’s gone before us and blazed a trail? What might this look like to do this for you now?

The Benediction (February 27th, 2022)

This is the eighth sermon in the ‘Liturgy for Life’ series.

Scripture Reading: Numbers 6:22-27

Introduction: When we gather together, there comes a point that someone must end the gathering. Sometimes we say a prayer, give a final word, shake hands, etc. The way we part with each other ends our gathering and sends us to our next experience.

There is something the Bible gives us– a practice and a liturgy for ending our worship gatherings that goes back at least 5000 years. We call it a benediction.

Read through Numbers 6:22-27. In this passage, God tells Moses to tell Aaron – the high priest who is also the worship leader – that this is what he should say to the people of Israel to end their gatherings and to send them out. The book of Numbers is about Israel’s journey in the wilderness, but before Israel is sent out into the wilderness, God gives them these words of blessing to give them boldness, endurance, and hope.

We desire something like this– something that enables us to go out into the world and face anything. This is why the benediction is a part of our Sunday liturgy.

1. Our Search For It

We need to realize that a benediction is something that every single human being is in search of. We long for more than a “take care” or “have a good day.” A benediction is unique because when we give it we speak goodness over or into someone. 

Humans being blessed by God began back in the creation story:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. – Genesis 1:27-28

When God blesses Adam and Eve, he does more than just speak good words over them. God also empowers them. To bless is to confer/give the ability to be and do what God has made them to do and be. Blessing is 1) affirmation of good and 2) empowerment to do good.  

Every person needs the affirmation that are loved and that they can do good. People search for this in all sorts of ways but what we’re all ultimately searching for is our Creator to give us this blessing of affirmation. God gives us this in Numbers 6. It is part of our liturgy to affirm believers of God’s favor upon their lives and empower believers to do the good works which God has set before them

2. How We Find It

The story of Jacob in Genesis is the story of someone who desperately sought for a blessing for most of his life. He did not have a blessing from his father, Isaac, but he desired it so much that he cheated his brother Esau out of his blessing and tore their family apart. Jacob did not get the blessing that he needed until he encountered God, wrestled with him, and finally sought a blessing from him as opposed to that of anyone else. 

When God blessed Jacob, he gave him a new identity. He went from being Jacob, a name which implies that he is a trickster, to being Israel which means “he who strives/wrestles with God.” In the same way, the blessing that we need the most is God’s blessing. His blessing gives us the strength to be who he says we are: namely, that we are his children and have his favor. 

The blessing that we most need is one from God, but the reality is that we have not earned a blessing from God. How can God bless someone who has earned the opposite, a curse? The reason God can bless people who have not earned it is revealed in how the benediction is placed at the end of the service. The benediction comes after God tells us that he has redeemed us from our sin. Galatians 3:13-14 tells us that on the cross Jesus received the curse which we deserve and in return gave us the blessing which he deserves. 

God can bless us because Jesus has earned his blessing and has freely given that blessing to us. When our faith is in Christ we can confidently take hold of the blessings of God knowing that what Jesus has given to us is truly ours.

3. When We Have It

There are two things to do when we have taken hold of God’s blessing:

1. Take it with you.

A blessing is received at the end of a gathering or meeting not simply as a pleasant word of goodbye, but as a pronouncement of reality. In the same way that two people are considered married when the priest pronounces them husband and wife, the blessing of the benediction effectively pronounces something true for us. The benediction is like the north star which you can look to for assurance and guidance throughout your daily life. It personally anchors us to God and reminds us that even if we fail and lose our way, the blood of Jesus covers us always and that God is always working to sanctify us and give us peace.

1. Give it to others.

Perhaps one of the most radical teachings of Christianity is that we are taught to bless those who curse us. Not just people who pronounce curses upon us in word, but also deed. We are called to bless those who actively work against us. This is taught multiple times across scripture: Luke 6:28, Romans 12:14, and 1 Peter 3:9, but how can we do this? We are only truly able to bless those who curse us when we have received God’s blessing and his Holy Spirit. When Jesus was cursed by those who crucified him, he did not return their behavior in kind. Instead, he trusted himself to God the Father whose blessing he already had (1 Peter 2:23 & Matthew 3:17). In the same way, we are not only able to endure the curses which people send our way, but we can bless them in return by entrusting ourselves to God’s blessing.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What did you think of the benediction before this sermon?

2. Do you think that you deserve a curse or a blessing? How can knowing that Jesus offers you his blessing change your life?

3. Is there anything that prevents you from blessing other people whether they curse you or not?

4. In what ways has the benediction been significant for you?

5. Why do you personally need the benediction?

6. In what ways do you search for affirmation or empowerment apart from God?

7. The benediction should give us more confidence, boldness, strength, and endurance in the Lord. Which of these could you use more of in your day-to-day life?

YOUR DAILY LITURGY 

In this series, we will be encouraged to “take ownership” of our daily liturgies (patterns, habits). Saying, “I’m so busy,” “I go with the flow,” or “I just go about my day” are examples of not taking ownership of the shape and structure of our lives. How can the shape and pattern of my daily life be built around the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

1. How can you take the benediction with you throughout the week?

2. How can you use the liturgy of the benediction to bless others?

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Click here to watch the sermon on YouTube.

The Lord's Supper (February 20th, 2022)

This is the seventh sermon in the ‘Liturgy for Life’ series.

Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:17-26

In the sacraments, God has given us signs and seals for our spiritual growth and nourishment. Last week we studied baptism, and this week we will study something that we do bi-weekly at Trinity: The Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion.

The Priority of the Lord’s Supper

There are many gray areas in scripture concerning what we do when we gather for worship, but the priority of the Lord’s Supper being a liturgy in the life of the Christian is not one of them. Three of the Gospels record the Lord’s Supper. At this meal, Jesus commands his disciples to eat this meal together again and to do it in remembrance of him as often as they do. The Lord’s Supper is nonnegotiable for the Christian.

In 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, Paul shows how the Lord’s Supper is a counter liturgy to the sinful liturgies which the Corinthians haven’t broken free from– this included suing, irreconcilable conflict, sexual immorality, disorder within the church. Taking the Lord’s Supper habitually can transform all areas of life. 

Eating and Drinking…

… in the biblical context

Eating and drinking in biblical times did not have the same connotation that eating and drinking have in modern, Western society. To eat and drink with someone meant you accepted their friendship and were unified with them. Jewish people of the time would never eat with Gentiles or a fellow Jew that they thought was living an unfaithful or unrighteous life. To eat and drink with them would mean you approved of their life and status before God, and that you shared status.

The act of eating and drinking is everywhere in the Bible. In Isaiah 55 the invitation to come to God is pictured as an invitation to eat and drink with Him. Jesus shocks the Jews when He eats with tax collectors and sinners in Luke 5. When Jesus returns, He plans to have a wedding feast with His bride. The end goal of the Bible is for us to eat and drink with God. This means fellowship and communion as we share in who He is. 

..the Lord’s Supper

At the Lord’s Supper, the Lord is the host and He is the one serving us. This meal is not about what we do to prepare ourselves to take it. It’s not our supper, but His supper– and He is present at His supper. What happens at the Lord’s Supper happens – not because of what’s in our mind, our heart, our actions. Jesus is truly spiritually present at His Supper.

…the Body and the Blood

Recounting the words of Jesus when he establishes this meal, Paul writes: 

“This is my body…this cup is the new covenant in my blood” – 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

We call these the words of institution because these words that Jesus spoke over the bread and wine are what make this meal special and powerful. 

During Jesus’ time, bread and wine represented the two main staples of human sustenance and the two gifts of God to sustain human life. Just as bread and wine are God’s gifts to nourish and strengthen us physically, this meal is God’s gift to nourish and strengthen us spiritually. The Lord’s Supper is how the life and death of Jesus get inside us.

…in Remembrance

The background for the Lord’s Supper is the Jewish Passover feast. At the Passover meal with his disciples before he died, Jesus transformed the most important biblical feast/meal into His supper. At the institution of the Passover, God told the people of Israel:

“This day is to be a memorial (Day of remembrance) for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.”  – Exodus 12:14 

In scripture, remembering is not just mentally recalling facts and information. When we remember the words of God we remember who Jesus is and who we are. We fix our eyes on something true for us. 

…the One Bread

In 1 Corinthians 10:17, Paul encourages the church to share in one bread, yet in chapter 11 Paul writes about wealthier people who were eating and drinking with each other before the poor could arrive. Rather than partaking as a family and as equals, some Christians in Corinth were showing partiality. Paul is clear that those who divide the church are unworthy to come to the Lord’s Supper and are eating and drinking judgment upon themselves. We must partake together and allow the Lord’s Supper to build unity among us as we remember our reconciliation to God and man.

… until He Comes

As we wait for the second coming of Christ and the wedding feast, we remember what Christ has accomplished in the past and what he has given to us in the present to spiritually nourish and strengthen us.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”  – 1 Corinthians 11:26

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. Did not taking the Lord’s Supper during Covid-19 make a difference in your life? Do you miss the Lord’s Supper when you go for a while without taking it?

2. How does this overview of the Lord’s Supper change your thinking about it? how might it change your experience of it? 

3. How can our need for physical nourishment teach us about our need for the Lord’s Supper?

4. How is the Lord’s Supper a sign and seal? How does this  assure us?

5. Which aspect of the Lord’s Supper – as described above – do you most need at this time in your life your right now? 

YOUR DAILY LITURGY 

In this series, we will be encouraged to “take ownership” of our daily liturgies (patterns, habits). Saying, “I’m so busy,” “I go with the flow,” or “I just go about my day” are examples of not taking ownership of the shape and structure of our lives. How can the shape and pattern of my daily life be built around the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

1. What are some ways you can let the Lord’s Supper nourish you during the service?

2. What is an aspect of your identity that can be strengthened by remembering Christ when you take the Lord’s Supper?

3. Have you ever talked about the importance of the Lord’s Supper with your friends or family? If not, have a conversation about this.

Click here for the full pdf version.

Click here to watch the sermon on YouTube.

Baptism (February 13th, 2022)

This is the sixth sermon in the ‘Liturgy for Life’ series.

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:37-47

In the sacraments, God has given us signs and seals for our own spiritual growth and nourishment. One of the most underutilized gifts and resources God gives us is our baptism. When we remember our baptism, we can rest in the truth that we are the Father’s beloved child, whom he is well pleased in. Our baptism announces the reality that we are clean before God and have been given new hearts.  

The Priority of Baptism

The First Thing the Church Does: In Chapter 1 of Acts, Jesus ascends into heaven and tells his followers to wait for the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 2 of Acts, the Holy Spirit is poured out and the people ask Peter and the apostles what they should do. Peter says “repent and be baptized (2:37).” Baptism was given priority in the first church. When people gathered together and received Jesus, they were first baptized. Baptism came before teaching, communion, and fellowship because baptism signified a new beginning. 

• Repenting means a complete change of direction, change of mind/heart, turning from the way you are headed, turning to a whole new way of life… centered on Jesus.  

• To be baptized with water symbolizes a new beginning.

Baptism is the sacrament of entrance. On one side of this water is a life oriented around ourselves. On the other side of this water is a life oriented around Jesus Christ. Baptism is a reminder to Christians of what it means to be a Christian. It us that believing in Jesus means the end of our old self and the start of a new self. We don’t fit Jesus into our plans and lives; we fit our plans and lives into Him. Many churches place their baptismal font at the entrance of the church to be a reminder of this new life in Christ.

The Meaning of Baptism

Baptism is also a “means of grace” – one of the main ways God gives us the grace to live this new way of life. However, it isn’t a magic button. Rather, God gives us baptism as a sign and seal, similar to how we think of a wedding ring. Baptism works as a sign that points us to Jesus and a seal that confirms what he has done is real and true for us personally. 

A Sign and Seal of…

• God’s pleasure over us–We are baptized in the name of Christ, and thus we are baptized into who Jesus is. When God looks at us, he can call us his beloved children with whom he is well pleased, because we are in Christ. 

• God’s pardon for us– We are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, meaning our shame and guilt are removed. 

• God’s power in us– We are given the Holy Spirit and should not look to our strength to empower us. 

• God’s promise to us– Our faith is strengthened when we remember those promises which baptism points to. 

• God’s pursuit of us– Baptism reminds us not to look to our pursuit of God but God's pursuit of us, no matter how much our faith wavers. 

• God’s people and us– We become a part of a new family when we are baptized: the Church.

Our need for these signs and seals is like our need for road signs on a long journey. We can be discouraged, filled with doubt, anxious, and tired on a long journey where there are few road signs. Baptism is like a road sign that reassures us by pointing to Jesus and what is true of all who believe in him. It is a great comfort to those who might feel lost, broken and need strength to continue on the road of following after Jesus.

The Liturgy of Baptism

• Sunday: Baptism is not something we do for ourselves. It is meant to be a part of the liturgy of the church. It signifies the official welcome, entrance into the church. This is important for the person being baptized and for everyone else who is witnessing the baptism. We welcome individuals into the people of God as a family! We witness their entrance into new life and should seek to remind each other of this.

• Everyday: Martin Luther, the leading Protestant Reformer, struggled his whole life with doubts and fears. It’s said that he wrote the words “I am baptized” in chalk on his desk. Consider making baptism part of your liturgies, such as knowing the date you were baptized or remembering it in your mind when you struggle with doubts or fears. 

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. Share if and how you were baptized. If you can remember your baptism, what did this event in your life mean to you?

2. How has your perspective on baptism changed or developed throughout the years?

3. In what ways do you underutilize the resource of baptism? 

4. How does baptism remind Christians what it means to be a Christian (and show non-Christians what it means to be a Christian)? See Romans 6:1-4 for help.

5. How is baptism a sign and seal? How can it assure and encourage us? How might having a physical, visible and tangible sacrament help us when we doubt the reality of our faith, the reality of God?

6. What promises does baptism point to that most you struggle to believe? (see section A Sign and Seal of…)

YOUR DAILY LITURGY 

In this series, we will be encouraged to “take ownership” of our daily liturgies (patterns, habits). Saying, “I’m so busy,” “I go with the flow,” or “I just go about my day” are examples of not taking ownership of the shape and structure of our lives. How can the shape and pattern of my daily life be built around the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

1. What are some practical ways you could remember your baptism in your weekly liturgy?

Click here for the full pdf version.

Click here to watch the sermon on YouTube.

Life in Community (February 6th, 2022)

This is the fifth sermon in the ‘Liturgy for Life’ series.

Scripture reading: Romans 16:1-16

Every week, at some point, we have a time we call “life in community” greetings, “announcements,” and whoever is up front asks you to stand up and greet each other. This may feel like an interruption in the service rather than part of a liturgy. However, Paul reminds us of the importance and power of community in Scripture as a model for church and daily liturgies.

The Need for Life in Community 

Paul’s extended greetings in his letters show us how connected he was to other people. We might be tempted to think of Paul as an amazing individual Christian, but Paul never writes a letter without mentioning the members of his community. Paul is modeling something for the church - his life was a life in community, so ours should be too. Paul’s call to “greet” others is much more than a polite “hello,” the greeting he has in mind is an opening up of your life to receive someone else into your life to enrich it and strengthen your relationship with God. In a world suffering from an epidemic of loneliness, we need practices to pull us back together. 

How to Build Life in Community 

In this passage, there is a very practical step Paul gives to build the kind of life in community we all need: the holy kiss. It’s found in verse 16 and commanded four other times in the NT. A holy kiss was a warm, affectionate greeting in the culture of this time. It was more common among Jews than Gentiles but practiced in both. Many historians say it was a kiss on the lips(!) and mostly among close relationships/family. It became a part of the common liturgy of the early church to express and strengthen the unity believers had as a new family in Christ. 

Applying the holy kiss today means considering the importance of a time for life in community in church liturgy and challenging our narrow individualistic approach to church. As one pastor says, “the story that we believe in is the story that we live out.” A regular week-in, week-out liturgy of “life in community” and greeting reminds us that our story is not an individual story but a story of life in community. We build life in community by making intentional time and space in our gathering to greet and welcome one another personally and affectionately. 

The Power of Life in Community – The regular liturgy of greeting one another with a holy kiss might seem simple but it had great power in the early church to produce a community such as the world had never seen: 

1. Power for Equality - There is a diverse group of people mentioned in Paul's greeting, including women, slaves, former slaves, Jews, Gentiles, and those from poverty and wealth. A greeting with a holy kiss brought everyone together as equals in a warm, affectionate family. This kind of equality was unheard of at the time across race, gender and social class. 

2. Power of Embodied Community - You cannot greet someone with a holy kiss unless you are in person with them. Christian worship is not just a matter of the soul but also of the body. The holy kiss reinforced the Christian belief that we are whole beings – our souls and our bodies matter to God. This was a constant reminder to care for both the spiritual and physical needs of others. 

3. Power to Re-personalize - Paul mentioning people by name means that he values them, their stories, and how their faith encourages his own. There are so many forces that depersonalize us at work in our world, a liturgy of greeting by name communicates to each person – you matter. 

4. Power for Peacemaking - Romans is well-known for its theological content, but one of the main reasons Paul wrote the book of Romans was to strengthen the unity of the churches in the city of Rome suffering from many divisions. To genuinely offer a holy kiss to another Christian first meant you were reconciled to them. In fact, the early church placed the liturgy of the holy kiss prior to the Lord’s Supper for just this reason. 

5. Power for Everyday Community - We might not consider church announcements very theological, but Paul includes one about Phoebe right in this text (which was read aloud to the church)! He asked the church to host and help her. Announcements, done righty, encourage the gathered community to connect beyond Sunday into in their everyday lives.   

The Challenge of Life in Community 

What we are called to is not easy or comfortable, but it is necessary for your emotional and spiritual health in the context of a church family. To open up your heart to others in a genuine greeting is to open up your life to share in the stories of others, receive their gifts, and move from being unknown to known. Jesus himself knew all the risks you might be imagining now and though he was betrayed by a holy kiss, he still loved Judas, welcomed him, ate with him, and opened his life to him. Jesus died so we could have eternal life in community with the Trinity and with everyone who he has welcomed in. If he has welcomed us in this way, how can we not welcome one another with warmth and openness?   

REFLECT OR DISCUSS 

1. How does the NT concept of a liturgy of “greeting” challenge or encourage you? How do you experience the weekly practice of greeting one another? Like it? Hate it? Why? 

2. Does the concept of a “holy kiss” make you feel uncomfortable? Why do you think it was so significant that Paul and Peter include it in their instructions to the churches? 

3. Look at section 3 – which of these 5 descriptions of “the power of life in community” do you feel are most important for you/our church right now?

   1. Special Focus - Digital services are a great convenience, but they can and should never fully replace our embodied participation in the body of Christ, the church. You greet someone with a holy kiss on a livestream. How should this impact our thinking on the place of online worship? 

4. How is living your life in community with the people in your church uncomfortable or risky?   

5. Read the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.  Notice how it says the Father kissed his son. 

   1. What did this kiss symbolize?

   2. What discomfort or risk was involved for the Father to kiss his son?

   3. What does this tell us about the heart of God for us? 

   4. How does this move us to enter the discomfort/risk of greeting each other with a “holy kiss”? 

YOUR DAILY LITURGY 

In this series, we will be encouraged to “take ownership” of our daily liturgies (patterns, habits). Saying, “I’m so busy,” “I go with the flow,” or “I just go about my day” are examples of not taking ownership of the shape and structure of our lives. How can the shape and pattern of my daily life be built around the gospel of Jesus Christ? 

1. What’s the difference between attending events (church, community group, bible study) and doing these same things as living a life in community?

2. Who is someone you know that might need a “greeting” or a “holy kiss” in these turbulent times? 

3. What are some practical ways for you to build life in community on Sundays and throughout the week?

Click here for the full pdf version.

Click here to watch the sermon on YouTube.